


Turning Anew

by Obsessed_Fander



Series: Anxiety And The "Heroes" [4]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: ... - Freeform, ...did you miss me?, ...im back, AND ALSO YES, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anyways, Fluff and Angst, I used to make Roman Very Unsympathetic, Memory Loss, Remus and Janus will be in this, So..., also I'M SORRY ROMAN, because I can't be assed to fix it that way, if you saw the character tags, im fixing it without deleting the bad parts, let me know if I need to tag anything else, maybe not how you'd expect but still, okay enjoy, seriously though I'm sorry for the long wait, so dont worry, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:53:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 40
Words: 51,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26262217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obsessed_Fander/pseuds/Obsessed_Fander
Summary: Be warned: This fic includes such fictional things as: someone with $1 million+ who actually earned their money, a cop who was a good person and did their job (only mentioned), and a public school who actually faced consequences for their poor standardsVirgil Storm is still adjusting to his new life, especially now that he has more people to look after, and a few new teammates. But there seems to be a dark surprise waiting around the corner, and for once Virgil hasn't been paying attentionOKAYSOAo3 is fucking up my tagsIf you want to see them in proper order, keep reading, if not, just proceed to the ficso...; ... - Freeform; ...im back; ...did you miss me?; seriously though I'm sorry for the long wait; also I'M SORRY ROMAN; I used to make Roman Very Unsympathetic; so dont worry;  im fixing it without deleting the bad parts; because I can't be assed to fix it that way; Anyways; Angst; Angst with a Happy Ending; Fluff and Angst; Memory Loss; let me know if I need to tag anything else; and also yes; if you saw the character tags; Remus and Janus will be in this; maybe not how you'd expect but still; okay enjoy;
Series: Anxiety And The "Heroes" [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1520024
Comments: 53
Kudos: 27





	1. Practice makes Princey annoyed

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to say thank you to all those who are still reading this series and especially those who left comments<3  
> Also if there are any mistakes *please* tell me, I usually don't update these once they're done and will end up fixing mistakes on the google docs but forget to fix the ao3 fic as well, thank you<3

“Ugh, why isn’t it working?” Adara groaned, trying to lift a rooted tree into the air. It was one Roman had purposefully created so that she wasn’t destroying life that was already there, but no matter how hard she tried it wouldn’t budge more than an inch. It would sway side to side in her efforts, and she knew she could easily break the top off if she wanted to, but she was learning to carefully lift more complex objects. Roman watched, he was able to manipulate matter so if he truly wanted to he could just lift it on his own, but he was supposed to be helping her train.

“Maybe you’re too tired. You don’t want to strain yourself past your limit.” He suggested, and she groaned again. She closed her eyes, acting like she was calming herself down, but in reality she was focusing on each tiny root in the ground, sifting the dirt around it and making them loose. 

As the grip of each one was slowly loosened to nothing, she focused and shifted some of the dirt at the base of the tree, so it could come up more easily. Roman saw the dirt shifting and looked to her in worry. “Hey, I think you might want to take a break, it looks like you’re starting to do it by accident.” He said, not wanting her to overexert herself. She didn’t open her eyes, lifting her hands slowly as she raised the tree, holding it in the air for a moment before she opened her eyes.

“Yes!” She exclaimed, and Roman looked at her in shock.

“How did you-” It had taken him ages to first learn how to do that, and while they had different powers, they were similar enough to use the same techniques most of the time.

“I had to get each of the roots free first, then I had to make sure that the trunk was free too.  _ Then  _ I could lift it out.” She explained, and he huffed. An 11 year old learned what he had at age 20, and she had only known of her powers for a few months, while he had been experimenting with them for years. “Hey, I wonder if I-” She stopped, pulling the tree over to her with ease. Surprisingly, the size of the object didn’t affect how much effort it took to move it, it was just when it was stuck with a bunch of different things keeping it in place that made it difficult. It hovered in the air right next to her, relatively low to the ground, and with a wary glance she jumped on. 

“Whoa there-” Roman said, getting to his feet, but she took off, clinging to the tree trunk as she soared in the air. She laughed, whooping as she did a few loop-de-loops, holding on for dear life. “Oh no you don’t!” He said, panic taking over. He couldn’t let her get hurt. 

Not only did he genuinely not want to see her get hurt, but if she was injured under his care Virgil would kill him. He created a block of cement and jumped onto it, creating a single streamline of fire, so that he didn’t burn the grass as he projected himself into the air. He couldn’t fly like everyone else in the group, so he had to get creative. Though, to be fair, he had thought that both him and Logan couldn’t fly, so he was a bit sour when he found out it was just him. He waited until she passed him and scooped her off the trunk, bringing her back down.

“Hey!” She exclaimed, and the trunk began to fall. Roman held it up as he lowered her to the ground, before bringing it out of existence. It was part of his creation powers, anything he made he could get rid of, but he couldn’t do the same to things that were already there, or even something made by someone else with the ability of creation, though he had only met one other person with it and they had moved to another country a few years after he met them. She pouted. “Come on, I was having fun!” She said, and he shook his head, putting her down and stepping off the concrete, getting rid of it as well. 

“No, you were going to get both of us killed.” He said, and she scowled, spreading her wings.

“Look, it’s not as though I was going to fall.” She raised into the air “See? And even if I did, I could catch myself, and then the tree, since I’m not  _ that  _ inexperienced.” She said, and he sighed in frustration.

“But you’re  _ 11,  _ just because you have a good grip on your powers doesn’t mean you can’t be prone to mistakes.” He said, and her eyes darkened. He swallowed nervously, it appeared that he had accidentally hit a nerve.

“And you’re an adult, so you  _ can  _ be infallible?” She asked harshly. He went to respond but she cut him off. “What about that time that you kidnapped me? Or tried to literally kill my dad? You had a good grip of your powers too, but you made  _ much  _ worse mistakes than I ever will. And who says age determines how many mistakes you’re likely to make? Adults do stupid things a lot more than we do, despite our shitty classmates providing bad examples!” She raised higher into the air, a force-field crackling in and out of existence without her noticing. He raised his hands in surrender. 

“That’s not what I’m saying. I  _ know  _ I’ve made mistakes, and I’m not pretending I haven’t. I’m not saying that you’re more or less likely to be prone to mistakes than I am, or anyone else for that matter. I’m just saying that  _ you’re  _ not infallible either, because you’re human too. All of us are, we  _ all  _ make mistakes, but you were acting like it was impossible for you to make one.” He explained, and she stared at him for a moment before dropping to the ground, rolling her eyes as she brought her wings back in. 

“Fine. I think I’m done training for now, I’ve progressed far enough for today.” She said cooly, heading back inside. Roman sighed, it was going to take a while before she trusted him, and it seemed that she had quite a few triggers. He just had to be more mindful when talking to her, she was a bit more combative than he realized. He went inside too, saying goodbye as he headed back to his place, he still had a bit of work to do to finish the most recent book he was writing.


	2. A New Perspective

**Mariah’s P.O.V.**

I’m so excited! People are coming in today, only two, but still! I heard they’re friends, both seeking to adopt someone from the same shelter, which means that if they can’t find two children to adopt from here, they’ll leave. But there are tons of good kids! There’s the twins, Jake and Laura, who are always playing, they’re 7, there’s Michael, he loves reading and has almost read through our entire library here, he’s 10, Sophia is always listening to music or singing, she’s quite the loud one for a 5 year old. There’s Carlee, who needs attention constantly, and she’s a little mean, but her parents were mean to her so that’s why, and she’s 8. 

Then there’s Janus, he won’t tell anyone his real name, I only managed to learn it from overhearing someone. He has a scar on the left side of his face, it almost looks like scales, he’s 12 and he’s really good friends with Remus despite their completely different personalities. Janus is quiet and smart and he likes reading fil-us-o-fee, whatever that is. 

Remus is 14, he had an older brother but his parents abandoned him, saying they only wanted one child. He’s 14 years younger and has always been loud because of that. He’ll scream anything he thinks about, and those things aren’t all that nice. I’m six, and I just act how the people around me act. It helps me stay safe from mean adults.

“Alright children, be on your best behavior! The potential parents have just arrived.” Mrs. Julian says, and I squee. They’re here! I run to the room, sitting as carefully as I can. Janus is next to me so I’ll stay quiet, and Remus is on his other side. The ladies walk in and look around in disgust, I hear them talking behind their hands.

“This place is disgusting. And look at them! These kids seem horrible.” They say, and I frown. Normally I would say something but I don’t want to get in trouble, and Janus is the one I’m acting like now, so I can’t change. I get in trouble when I change. 

“I know, these brats don’t look like they’d listen to us no matter what we said, they’d disobey if the order was too serious.” The other lady says back, and for a second I see my Mommy and Daddy instead of them, but I turn my head. A few minutes go by with them talking to a few of the kids with frowns on their faces, but then a random man walks in. I feel a smile on my face, but he walks past us and talks to Mrs. Julian instead in another room.

“Let’s ditch this place, I want to know what they’re talking about.” Janus says, and Remus nods excitedly. “But you have to be quiet, I know it’s hard but you can’t say anything or we’ll get in trouble.” He explains, and Remus nods again, a serious look on his face. He stands up carefully and I follow, no one noticing. 

No one ever sees little Mariah, she slips through the cracks even when she’s shouting, even when she’s being someone mean. Even when she’s asking for attention. Remus is a little easier to see, but everyone else is looking at the women, and the women are too upset to see us slip away. We make it to the doorway and listen in, and Janus places a gentle hand on my shoulder. I look up at him in surprise and he gives me a soft smile. Maybe someone sees me.

“I would like to open a foster home for all the children in this facility. They can leave or come back here any time they’d like, the choice will always be theirs, and if any of them are willing I’d be happy to adopt them on the spot.” The man explained, and Mrs. Julian looks at him in surprise.

“Are you sure, Mr. ...?” She trails off, unsure of his name.

“Please, just call me Virgil.” The man says, and she nods.

“Are you sure, Virgil? There are quite a few kids here, and not all of them are exactly... typical.” He looks at her with a frown. “It’s not that I’m trying to ward you off, I’m happy that there’s someone who’d gladly take them all in. But I know how much it would break their hearts if it turns out that they’re too much for you, or that only a few of them get to actually stay.” She explains, and he nods.

“I understand. I adopted a girl from this same orphanage 8 years ago, and just recently I have added four more children to my home due to them being no longer welcome in their own. They can attest that I can handle children, and I know how it feels to be an abnormal kid in these systems.” He says, and I look to Remus and Janus. 

“It looks like we’re all getting homes.” Remus says softly, and Virgil shifts.

“Alright, I’ll talk to you a bit more later on, I’d be glad to set this up but currently there are some people here looking to adopt the children already.” He hands her piece of paper with a phone number on it. “Okay, I’ll be sure to call you. I just need your full name.” She says, and he smiles.

“It’s Virgil Storm.” He says, and she stops. 

“Virgil  **Storm** ? As in,  _ the  _ Virgil Storm?” She asks, and he nods with a smile.

“Yes, that’s me.” He says, and she shakes her head. It looks like she doesn’t believe him.

“Alright, I’ll call you as soon as this is done, I’m sure the kids will love to have a home.” She says, and he turns to the door halfway.

“And tell the kids listening in that they don’t need to be secretive, I’m fine that they listened in.” He says with a smirk, and I shrink back. He knows we’re here? But he didn’t see us! I know he didn’t! Remus steps forwards.

“How did you know? We were silent! We weren’t in the way, you couldn’t see us, we didn’t say anything loud enough to be heard, how did you know?!” He shouts angrily, and Virgil stares at him, fear and surprise on his face.

“I have better hearing than most people. I can hear the footsteps of every kid in the other room. I can even hear the breaths of the ladies who are now making their way to the door, based on the sound of their footsteps. To anyone else you would’ve gone unnoticed, so it’s not as though you made a mistake.” He explains calmly, and we head back. The ladies are standing by the door with frowns and Mrs. Julian goes to talk to them.

“These kids are all brats. None of them deserve homes and we’re going elsewhere before you try and brainwash us otherwise.” They say, and leave before she can say anything. Virgil smiles and leaves, nodding to us. 

I wonder what’s going to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if I accidentally say anything offensive or incorrect, I'd be happy to correct it if I said anything not okay


	3. A Confrontation

Virgil was furious. Those ladies had come to seek out a child to give a home, had insisted that they needed to follow orders otherwise they wouldn’t be adopted, had said that they were horrible kids for simply being kids, and then insisted that anyone trying to tell them otherwise was trying to brainwash them. 

And then he also was confused, and horrified, and scared for one of the kids. They looked so much like Roman, especially when he got angry. He was shouting just the way he would, and if someone told him that that was Roman simply as a kid, he would’ve believed them without any proof necessary. When he got home he went right to the hero, who was training outside, learning to gain more control of his fire so that something horrible didn’t happen again.

“Roman?” Virgil asked, and he stopped, looking over to him. “Is there any chance that you have a brother?” He asked, and pain flashed through Roman’s eyes.

“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “He was born when I was fourteen, but once he was two years old they gave him up. They said they only wanted one child, and when no adoption center would take him, they threw him out on the street, right near one they hadn’t been to yet. That way they wouldn’t be able to trace him back to them. He didn’t even know his last name, he was only two, and I was forbidden from ever trying to see him. The last I heard of him he had accidentally created his own last name. He’s Remus Duke now.” He explained, and then he looked up. “Why do you ask?” He said, confused. Virgil sighed.

“Because I just saw a teen at an adoption center who looked so much like you that I had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.” He said, and Roman’s eyes lit up with surprise.

“Are you sure?” He asked, and he nodded.

“I was heading there because I was planning on starting a foster home here for those who needed it, and when I was talking to the lady a few kids listened in. I could tell since, ya know, enhanced hearing, but when I pointed it out he got really mad. I think he has a hard time keeping quiet, so when he was quiet for once and still got figured out he kinda snapped at me.” He explained, and Roman nodded.

“What’s the name of the place, if you don’t mind me asking?” He asked, and Virgil told him. He said his goodbyes and left, and Virgil didn’t bother trying to stop him, he knew what was going to happen. Child who’s been abandoned sees family member seeming to care about them after no contact for years? Like  _ hell  _ he’ll take to that kindly. 

Roman raced there, bursting through the doors, and instantly he knew what Virgil meant. There was a child in green and black, still angry, but looking so much like himself that he thought he was looking at a picture from when he was a teen. If it was him, he’d be 14 now, and still no one’s taken him in. It broke his heart.

“Are you Remus?” He asked, and Mrs. Julian started walking forwards, worried.

“Yeah, what is it to you?” He asked, turning around. He saw Roman and froze, he thought he was seeing an older version of himself for a moment.

“I-I’m Roman.” He said carefully, and two things came to mind. His brother, who he only remembered the name of, and the celebrity. He scowled.

“Which one?” He asked, and Roman blinked at him, confused. “Which one?!” He stood up, knocking the chair aside haphazardly. “Are you my brother, who left me alone for 12 years? Or are you the stupid celebrity?” He shouted, and all the other kids turned to him. 

“Come on Re, let’s go somewhere else.” Janus said quietly, but Roman looked at him with hurt eyes and Remus didn’t budge.

“I’m not going anywhere until he answers.” He growled, and Janus tugged harder at his sleeve, but he didn’t say anything else.

“Both.” Roman sighed. Remus’ eyes widened, but then his glare hardened.

“So you mean to tell me in all this time you’ve never thought to visit? You went off and became some hotshot writer, and never looked back? Yet it seems you’ve known I was here all this time!” He shouted, and Mrs. Julian stepped in.

“I do believe we’ve had enough celebrities here today. I hate to be rude, but would you kindly leave?” She asked, but Roman didn’t seem to hear her.

“No! I haven’t known! Our parents never told me anything, if I ever asked a single question they’d punish me! I couldn’t come here, even though I wanted to!” He shouted, and Remus grew angrier.

“Well you’re fourteen years older than me, which means that you’re an adult now! What’s stopped you then?!” He shouted, and Roman looked close to tears.

“I was never told where you were! By that time I suspected you had found a home already, and who was I to take you from a loving family when all seeing me would do was to remind you of our horrible parents? I didn’t want to take that from you, because I  _ know  _ you’re a good kid and I truly believed someone else would’ve seen that by now. But when Virgil told me that you were here, the first thing I did was come here!” He exclaimed, and Janus glared up at him.

“Leave him alone. You’ve caused him enough pain.” The child growled, and Roman glanced between the two of them, before hanging his head.

“If that’s what you want, then I will. I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He gave one final look back to his brother and left, walking away and ducking into an alley. Remus watched him leave, and a small part of him felt regret for pushing his brother away like that, but he forced it down. 

His parents had said that feeling was weak, and he  _ wouldn’t  _ let himself be weak to  _ anyone.  _ Not even Janus was allowed to see that side of him, no matter how hard he tried to comfort his friend, to tell him it was alright. Janus hid his emotions too, so they only really had each other. He supposed that would be true for a long while, considering the day they'd had.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up until around the 13,000 word mark was written many months ago, maybe a year at this point. I finally got the motivation to continue this from where I left off and what better way to motivate myself to actually finish it by having the beginning posted? But since this was written so long ago there are bound to be some major shifts in writing style and a lot of things I need to fix  
> Anyways, thanks for reading<3


	4. Unexpected Empathy

Virgil didn’t say anything when he got back, he had known what was going to happen. The pure misery on Roman’s face was enough to confirm it, and while he had some sympathy for him, he was more empathetic towards the kid. At one point one of his foster parents had come to take him back, claiming that they were really his birth parents. Virgil, despite doing his best to repress it, knew what his birth parents looked like, and they were nothing like them. The only thing similar was personality, and it wasn’t exactly a welcoming one. 

He had screamed so loud that a police car a few blocks over came racing to see what the problem was, and confirmed that they weren’t his parents. After all, his story had been that his parents died, he was too young to know their first names (he did, but he wasn’t going to tell them that), and that the last name was Storm. Those people didn’t exist in any written records, but ever since Virgil Storm, the poor foster kid, did. 

“You were right. It was him, but he didn’t want to talk to me.” He said sadly, and Virgil resisted the urge to sigh.

“Not to be rude,” He ignored the harsh look this earned him “But I knew he wouldn’t. To him, his family has abandoned him for however long, and now they’re suddenly showing up pretending to care. Just because you  _ do  _ care doesn’t change the fact that it seems highly suspicious to him, the more so the older he is when this happens.” He explained, and Roman glanced at him curiously, his brows furrowed.

“How do you know all this? You had maybe a five minute interaction with him.” He said suspiciously, and Virgil stiffened. Just because he was civil, maybe somewhat friendly, with them, didn’t mean he was opening up about his past, especially something so personal as this. Liam walked in, a smile on his face.

“Hey, have you guys seen Lillith around? She sent me a text saying she wanted help on a project, but she won’t tell me what room she’s in and I don’t want to make her wait an hour as I check every room.” He explained casually. Virgil paused for a moment, appearing to think, but instead he was listening intently. He heard Lillith groan, mumbling something to herself, which he didn’t pay much attention to, just focusing on where the sound was coming from.

“I think she’s in the crafts room, down three hallways to the right.” He said, thankful for the shift in attention. Liam smiled, waving as he headed off.

“Thanks!” He called, walking away. Unfortunately, Roman hadn’t forgotten his question, but by the time he looked back at Virgil he was gone. Virgil was actually invisible, and started walking away, distorting reality so no one could hear his footsteps, and Roman just sighed in annoyance. He didn’t dare voice his frustrations out loud, due to the super-hearing and all, but he never thought the man could be so flighty when it came to uncomfortable topics. Though, to be fair, his chosen alias was  _ Anxiety,  _ so it wasn’t all that hard to believe. 

Virgil sighed in relief once he was out of range. Not that it was all that difficult to talk about, but it wasn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world either, especially since they were still new to the whole “being friendly and honest” thing. Just because he wasn’t purposefully being an asshole to them didn’t mean he was opening up his deepest traumas for them when they had barely thought to share anything about themselves now that they were no longer strictly enemies. 

Patton was as open with him as he was the day he first told him that he had split from the “hero” team, so there wasn’t much strain in the relationship there, and him and Logan got along pretty well due to just similar personalities, but Roman and Virgil still clashed, and while Virgil put in as much effort as he could into easing their relationship - less snarky remarks, not showing how guarded he was, basically just acting like Virgil and erasing all signs of Anxiety away while interacting with him, Roman didn’t seem to want to further the relationship along other than for the security of not having an enemy, or the occasional useful information he could glean from Virgil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter, this wasn't originally written in chapters so I have to make decisions on where to end them based on tone and perspective shifts


	5. Rising Tension

Kennedy was still somewhat unsure of the heroes. They hadn’t been following what happened with heroes and villains a whole lot, all they knew is that everyone at their school - not the same one as all the other kids they lived with, Virgil had offered to transfer them but they declined - feared the villain known as Anxiety. 

Because of this, they had never really viewed the heroes as idols, and their opinion dropped once they learned what happened to Adara’s parents. Then they found out that Anxiety was Virgil, and any impression of neutrality left their mind, but it was still only mild dislike. But then their first experience with actually seeing the heroes, in action, was with Princey trying to kill their dad, who had picked them up when they were little more than broken pieces. 

So when they turned around rather quickly, it wasn’t a full story for them. They just saw an awful person get taken down by the other awful person saying they had gone too far, because the one with actual morals had left their team. So the change from horrible person to ally seemed a little suspicious to them, but their family had all agreed that it was fine, so long as they tried to be better, and that was enough for them to agree as well.

Patton they were pretty open with, and it was nice to have someone who felt somewhat like family to talk to, who wasn’t afraid to share emotions all that much. After all, having to force your emotions quiet was a horrible experience, so he didn’t want to self-inflict it, and was good at making sure others didn’t either. He was easy to talk to, made everything simple but didn’t shy away from complicated conversations. He even understood the issues they had with the other heroes, and the complicated feelings that came with being on the same team as them now. 

Logic was a little colder, and after learning of their whole family’s past conflicts with him it made him a little harder to be around, but his nature as a teacher also made him learn much quicker how to deal with his own flaws, and helped him relearn how to act appropriately around others - especially children - even if he disagreed with them. 

Roman, however, Kennedy didn’t like that much. Their first real experience with them he had tried to kill their dad multiple times, and everything they heard about them didn’t exactly help that stained spotlight. His reputation as a hero had been questioned more and more after they had all joined Anxiety, and even those who viewed it as a good thing that they all worked together made them question what they were doing wrong in the past to cause it to be more positive than simply having the villain seemingly turn over a new leaf. 

They were cautious around him, not really sharing much, and since they didn’t have daily interactions it wasn’t all that hard to avoid revealing much about themselves, though they often indirectly grilled him to find out more about who he was, what his intentions were, what did he think of their family, etc. It was never really obvious to Roman, who thought that they were a naturally curious kid and he couldn’t resist the chance to talk about himself - though he was getting better, and now only did so when asked, rather than bragging at every opportunity. Patton was proud of the development, Logan was glad at finally having some modicum of peace when around him, and Virgil was glad he didn’t have to listen to it even more now that they were interacting somewhat regularly. 

His house was basically their base now, and while he hadn’t minded that much at first, it was getting increasingly annoying as that was also his  _ home.  _ He had plenty of other houses they could hang out at or discuss, and they all had their own homes as well that he knew for a fact they much preferred, but he guessed they must have met up at their base in that old warehouse frequently enough to warrant them acting this way now, at least in their eyes. 

He  _ much  _ preferred working alone, since it meant he didn’t have to plan anything, at least not with other people. Then Adara found out, and while he didn’t mind talking to her about it as much, she still wasn’t really helping him make decisions or anything, they just were open when talking about it with each other. 

But now he had to get everything he wanted to do approved, and then they’d often just decide to do it together anyways, since it was easier that way, or at least that’s what they claimed. Really, they didn’t trust him all that much, and he knew it, but Patton just liked hanging out with him. Now that it wouldn’t end up with him scorned if he went out with Virgil as Anxiety and Morality, he did it as much as possible, which Virgil found to be somewhat aggravating, though he knew it came from a good place. 

But Logan and Roman still didn’t trust him all that much. They thought that he might relapse into something truly despicable, and even though they thought that he wouldn’t just go into full villainy immediately, they wanted to be around any time he did something in costume to make sure that he wasn’t going against  _ their  _ idea of what a hero should look like. 

Even though he had never, in his life, conformed completely to what they wanted him to do, now that they were on the same team they wanted, no,  _ expected  _ him to act like their puppet just so they wouldn’t turn against him again. Granted, they thought of it in slightly different terms, and Virgil thought of it a little more harshly, but that was roughly what was happening, and why tensions between them were so high. 

It’s why, when a fight finally broke out, no one was too surprised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be longer, I promise<3


	6. Inner and Outer Battles

Anxiety stood in the empty parking garage, like he always had. Shadows were flickering around him, capable of physical harm. While the distortion of reality often just meant he could manipulate how others  _ perceived  _ reality, it could also manifest into physical beings, things that didn’t exist anywhere but his mind, and turn them into something real, something tangible and able to do whatever he could imagine. 

He was changing reality, something none of them had ever seen him fully do, rather than their perception of it, but they didn’t quite realize the difference. Not yet, anyways. After all, they always felt the pain, always saw the attacks and reacted to them and saw the wounds, but the second the battle was over, they were gone, no pain, no mark, nothing. So they weren’t expecting much, they knew there would be pain, they knew Anxiety would hurt them, but they thought it wouldn’t be real, once everything was over.

Virgil’s mind was battling him. Begging him not to attack, not to start it. But sparks flickered on Princey’s hands, Logic’s muttered words were making physical manifestations, his powers he rarely used coming to the front in his rage. He heard the mutter of “fear is blind” and his eyes stopped seeing for a moment, but he fought through it, his healing working to restore his eyesight. Rage boiled up in him, if he hadn’t had enhanced healing he would’ve been blind  _ permanently  _ unless Patton healed him. 

Granted, his hearing was so good that if he closed his eyes he was practically able to echolocate, but still,  _ they didn’t know that.  _ Anxiety growled, and Virgil’s doubts left. Anxiety stood tall, dark energy glowing in his hands. His wings came out, lifting him a few inches off the ground, and Logic held doubt in his mind for a moment. Anxiety only ever brought his wings out while fleeing - which he did while invisible and he never hesitated - or when he was  _ extremely pissed.  _ It was never a good sign. 

His mask was incinerated, and he blinked at them with fury mightier than that of a thousand suns. There’s a phrase, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, but there was apparently a wrath even worse, even more destructive and powerful than that. It was the anger of Anxiety when pushed past his limit. 

Before it had simply been parental rage, over his child being hurt, over the idea of his child being hurt, and all extensions of it. But now, he had personally been pushed to the breaking point, and they both had to physically restrain themselves from trembling. 

He hated that he had let Roman stay around to learn how to control his powers better, because his face hadn’t been harmed at all. Which meant he wasn’t just attacking him physically, he was trying to reveal his identity. There was no mistaking now what the attack was after. He flicked into shadow form for a fraction of a second, coming back with the mask on. The good thing about the shadow ability was he never needed to change clothes in case of an emergency like this, though obviously it wasn’t what he used daily, that would just be all sorts of horrific towards personal hygiene.

The shadows behind him came forwards, seething and spitting acid. The two heroes blinked, they’d never seen  _ that  _ before. They stepped back carefully. Patton was at Virgil’s house baking cookies for the kids, he had no idea about the conflict, though he did know tensions were getting high. He hoped to speak to them all about it a little later that day. 

Anxiety moved forwards an inch, and the shadow creatures took their chance to attack. They tore horrifically at the heroes, burning them with acid and slicing them with their teeth, unable to be harmed. They were cartoonish, solid black forms of goo, the way a monster of shadows in an animated show would look, except they were real. Unlike Anxiety’s form as a shadow, they were three dimensional, and looked like oil given shape, though the shape wasn’t the same at any given moment. It meant that any attempt to slice through them failed, it was like cutting water, and any attempt to burn them just obviously didn’t work.

Logic tried bringing his sayings to reality again, but they didn’t really work. First, Anxiety heard ‘They’re just shadows, they can’t hurt you’, but then he was immediately injured. Then he heard him rephrasing in confusion, ‘They’re just shadows, they can’t hurt me’, but still nothing. Anxiety wanted to laugh. 

First, to clear up any misunderstanding, he had to say something that was commonly said. The less common, the weaker it is, and if it’s just him, or maybe a few other people, who says it then it won’t work at all, which is why he couldn’t just say something to directly deal with the problem. He thought that it was because he said ‘you’, but when it still didn’t work it puzzled him. Then he thought that it was because they weren’t really hurting him, it just seemed like they were. Until one struck a pillar and the layer above them came crumbling down, and Anxiety suffered a few scratches from it and coughed through the dust. See, the thing is, he was calling them shadows, which they weren’t really. However, Anxiety brought them into existence, and  _ he  _ called them as shadows, so that phrase should’ve worked.

But that’s where the catch lies. He was  _ right.  _ They  _ shouldn’t  _ be able to hurt him, because that’s what the rules of  **reality** said. But Anxiety was twisting reality, changing it, bending its rules. They couldn’t hurt him, or anyone else for that matter,  _ but Anxiety was making it so they could.  _ He was making them real, and making them imperviable too. And it seemed to be taking no toll on Anxiety, other than the fact that they might be causing him accidental harm occasionally, but that healed faster than the time it took to really become a problem. 

Once Logic deduced this, quite a ways into the battle as well, he froze, fear creeping into his mind for the first time ever in one of their battles. Sure, he’s been doubtful, nervous, anxious, maybe thinking over his actions, but never has he been truly, deeply terrified while in battle with Anxiety. That’s not to say he’s never been scared, he most certainly has - though he would beg to differ - but not while fighting Anxiety, not in this specific situation. His blood felt cold, and he realized, that no matter what, no matter how many different ways they’d discovered to twist a loss into a win, this one they couldn’t. 

If they even lived to tell the tale, there was no way they could spin the story to make it seem like they had done anything other than lose horribly. And what a terrifying thought,  **_if_ ** they lived through it. In a fight with someone they knew, someone they had grown to befriend. Not because they had turned corrupt - though they certainly weren’t the best people on the planet - but because they had finally driven him to the breaking point. He had finally snapped, and it was their fault. 

Anxiety was near wanting them dead, and it wasn’t like it was completely unjustified. They had attempted to kill him, they had even gone so far as to plan out his murder, to set someone else up to potentially die so that they could finally rid the world of the “wretched Anxiety”. He was so, _so_ tired of being called a villain, a ~~**_m_** ** _o_** ** _n_** ** _s_** ** _t_** ** _e_** ** _r_**~~ for something _he never did._ Sure, he wasn’t necessarily a paragon, he had iffy methods, but that was _never,_ ** _never_** the reason he was critiqued. 

It was always simply because they didn’t like him, or they thought he was doing things he wasn’t, or because no hero could like black that much, (to that he just wanted to say “ever heard of BatMan?”), or because he hurt the heroes or left random people defenseless or hurt innocent people or  _ all the other things he didn’t do. _ He had never hurt the heroes, at least not to this extent, before, and the few times he did injure them it was in self-defense, which legally made it not his problem, so why they hated him for it he didn’t know. (He knew it was because they hated Anxiety, but he liked to ignore that.) 

Their injuries were getting to the point that they couldn’t ignore them anymore, they couldn’t pretend that they were fake, that they weren’t really hurting them, because  _ Anxiety was being hurt too.  _ Every so often, one of the shadows would turn on him and slice him with its teeth, or spit acid at him, and he’d snap it out of existence as his body went to work to heal it. But that’s the thing, he couldn’t make it disappear, couldn’t make it stop, because  _ they were real.  _

Princey stumbled back, Logic hadn’t bothered to tell him due to being too terrified, and based upon the look on his face, Princey could tell that he  **did** know. They stood, defenseless, and Anxiety rose a foot higher into the air, rage seeping through his cold look. The shadows continued ruthlessly, and they simply did their best to dodge and defend themselves, they couldn’t even deflect the attacks. Slowly, one of the shadows in the back turned on Anxiety again, but he didn’t notice. 

That shocked them into action. Acid was burning his flesh, teeth were ripping away his skin, but he  **didn’t notice?** Didn’t realize there was anything wrong? Anything he needed to deal with? Another turned, then another, until only half of them were still attacking the “heroes”, but still Anxiety held his glare, a distant look that held no emotion the more they stared. There was no emotion on his face, none at all, which was strange even for him, despite him trying to hold an angry look. 

They glanced at each other and understood that he was distorting their perception again, changing what expression he held. They slowly moved forwards, and it seemed with each step they took another two formed, but another one turned as well. They made it halfway to the floating figure when it became too overwhelming to simply ignore the shadows around them. Sighing, they turned to fight for the time being.

Anxiety held up his mask of distance, he had to. Tears streamed down his face, his body curled up midair. Shadows ate at him, slowly drawing more and more blood, burning him with the acid, but he didn’t have the strength to call them off. They attacked whatever he felt negative emotions towards, which probably wasn’t the best distinction to make, considering that now that he was feeling horrible about himself they took the opportunity to attack. 

He fell a few inches, lowering into their reach even more. Slowly, he found himself on the ground, and at once he changed to shadow form. Nothing could hurt him while like this, not even them, though they sure as hell tried. He stopped distorting his image, since there was no point in it now, and he tried to quiet his sobs. It’s not like they heard them over the noise the shadow-creatures were making anyways. 

He thought over his life. What had led him to this point? Why was this how he was bound to exist, forever? Well, Virgil had ran away at five, from an abusive household that wanted him dead. They said he had ruined their marriage, that he was never obedient, and that he made their life hell. All blatant lies, but he hadn’t cared at the time, hadn’t given the words much thought. Since no record of him existed in the system, they didn’t know what he was like, they had nothing to go off of so they just placed him in a foster home with more children than he could count at the time (it was around 26, depending on at what time in his stay - which was only a month) to help him get over his anxieties about other people. 

Except, he was completely neglected, only one of the kids even noticed there was someone new there, and they weren’t the nicest. The parents never spoke to him, though a few times they went looking for the new child and found that they couldn’t find him, since he was usually hiding from all the kids, but they didn’t know that. They rarely remembered to put out enough food for him to get some, and when they did, some of the other kids would usually take it anyways. 

So he ran away again. They knew not to bring him back, but instead put him in a new home, with only one other kid at the time. But then the parents didn’t like him, and while not being physically abusive in any way, they never let him forget that he was disliked, dishing out cruel comments or making his anxiety so much worse by feeding into it, “Are you really wearing that outfit” “They won’t like you” “You’re not doing it right” “You’re being weird” “Everyone hates you”, and other such remarks. Eventually it got to the point that they couldn’t stand him, so they eventually kicked him out. That was only after a few years, but he found that people were less willing to take an older child into their foster homes, not unwilling, but less, and he was only eight. 

From then on he only lasted about a year in each home, just long enough to make it to his birthday - though sometimes he only made it a few months, before they either got sick of him or he ran away, unable to stay due to his crippling fears that they’d end up hurting him in one way or another. Usually he just ran away, but it wasn’t completely uncommon for them to kick him out, which just made his fears worse. There was the one time where he ran away, though he was pretty much chased, as a teen for coming out about being gay, getting almost whipped with a belt, and he had been in that home for three years at that point, making him sixteen when he left. That was the last foster home he was ever in.

No one took him in afterwards, due to him being too old, or the few who actually wanted to, due to him having a horrible track record. It was only two years until he turned eighteen anyways, and public school wasn’t too shitty - mostly because everyone was too scared of him to try and bully him. It didn’t help that one kid attacked him and he jabbed them in the throat so hard that they were in the hospital for months after the one hit, but he was just having a bad day and panicked before he could think through his actions. 

He started a business from there, deciding that he would live a better life than he had when he was younger. It took off once he turned nineteen, and he made his first million by the time he was 21. It quickly grew, and so did his reputation, until he was a trillionaire at only 28. That was two years after he adopted Adara, and they had grown quite close in the short amount of time. 

Anxiety had first ever been spotted when a mugger was going after one of his classmates. They were a notorious bully, so he wasn’t exactly kind during the rescue, but he wasn’t just going to let them die. That’s when he learned to corrupt his voice, it was surprisingly easy to do, since all he was doing was changing reality - actually changing it, not just people’s perceptions of it - but he found it was easier to just change people’s perceptions when he didn’t want to actually harm anyone, or just when he didn’t want property damage claims. 

People had been surprised that a high-school aged kid was a superhero, but as more and more claims of him just being generally rude - a lot of the horrible people he knew got into life-threatening situations, and he had a hard time hiding his annoyance at having to rescue them - they started to suspect that he was only saving them because the people attacking the ones that he saved were ruining some higher evil plan, and that he was really working for some villain at the time. 

People speculated on which one it was, until it became obvious that he didn’t work for anyone, and by that point the name Anxiety was so irreversibly intertwined with villainy that no one thought that he might just be doing good, so he was deemed a villain of his own accord, until he had more and more influence that eventually he became renowned as the world’s most powerful supervillain, and by that point his actions were more morally grey so it didn’t really help his image. 

So it was always for something he hadn’t done. Granted, once the rumors started he didn’t do much to help it, but there was never an inciting incident based upon his own actions, the horrible behaviors towards him had never started as his fault, as either persona, but he had always thought it was. Always took the blame upon himself, because it was easier, easier to cope with, easier to understand, when he was younger. And it grew into a habit, one that didn’t help him all that much, but it altered his view of the world. 

So he decided to take matters into his own hands, to act as horribly as everyone thought he did, but  _ then he didn’t, _ then he just started acting like a jerk to those he encountered while behind the mask, and his morally grey actions slowly developed on their own, but he wasn’t even doing those anymore either. Yet everyone still thought of him as a villain, just one starting to see the light and work with the heroes. He had never truly done what they said he had.

**_Until now._ **

He raced into the air, calling his shadows off immediately. He looked at the two heroes, catching their breaths with injuries spread across their bodies, and he panicked. He rose higher into the air, hitting his head on the bottom of the level above them - or rather, the one two levels above them since the one directly overhead was collapsed now - in his frantic despair. He closed his eyes, forcing back tears, and he willed their injuries away. He knew it wouldn’t work, he had caused them, they were  _ real,  _ but he wished with all his might and pretended like it would solve everything, like his whole life wouldn’t have been a nightmare if their wounds would just spontaneously disappear. 

Logic looked over his body as the cuts closed, the acid burns disappearing as their clothes sewed themselves back together. Princey glanced down at himself as well as the same thing happened to him. They met eyes, coming to the same conclusion:  ~~ Anxiety,  ~~ _ Virgil  _ was distorting reality again, not creating illusions, but changing the factual realities surrounding them and making it so they weren’t injured. The place slowly rebuilt itself, blocking their view of the floating figure, until all the damage caused in the fight had been repaired, all without a sound. 

Virgil opened his eyes, looking down at the cement below him in astonishment. For a brief moment he thought it had all been in his imagination when he heard Princey cough from the level below, and panic overtook him completely. He changed to shadow and fled, leaving two confused heroes to wonder what the hell just happened, and how in the world they were going to fix it.


	7. Quiet Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo boy, we're starting to catch up with what I already have written  
> Hope you enjoy<3

Alex didn’t think much of the majority of what he saw when going on his walks through the city. It was a place full of people, he was bound to see strange things. He had heard the recent hero drama, but he wasn’t all that interested in it. To him, they were basically just celebrities, and he didn’t care much for deep dives into their lives, though some of his friends loved to speculate about their identities. 

In his mind it was up to the heroes to reveal it, or keep it a secret forever. So it wasn’t all that surprising when, upon stumbling onto the form of Anxiety, sobbing uncontrollably on the ground in an abandoned part of the forest, he didn’t react all that much. He stepped forwards cautiously, trying to see if they were hurt or needed help, but all they did was flinch, like he was expecting to be attacked but didn’t care enough to get out of the way. That made him worried. He let his hand fall to his side, settling on talking for the moment.

“Are you okay?” He started with, knowing the answer was probably no, but leaving it up to the masked figure to decide how much to share. He simply shook his head. “Do... you want to talk about it?” He asked, and Anxiety lifted his head, looking questioningly towards Alex. “It’s fine if you don’t.” He clarified easily, and after a moment of silence he just hung his head, looking away with a small noise of affirmation. Alex sat down in the dirt, a comfortable distance away, and gestured to show that he was listening.

“I hurt someone.” He waited for the backlash, for the random stranger to blow up at him, to tell him that that’s just what he did, but when nothing happened he continued. “I-” He took a deep breath. “They pushed me past my limits, I thought I could trust them, but they just showed that they’d never really trust me. I lashed out and attacked them with power I didn’t know I had. When I realized what I’d done I healed them and fled, after a brief self-realization and subsequent mental breakdown. I didn’t even know I  _ could  _ heal people.” He looked up at Alex, before letting out a humorless laugh, a sad look in his eyes. “I guess that says a lot about me, huh.” A tiredness came to his posture, like all emotions had drained from him, leaving him just completely exhausted. Alex looked at him kindly. 

“Not really. Or at least not in the way you think.” He said, and when Anxiety looked up at him in confusion, he explained. “Not knowing you can do something, even if it’s something wonderful, just shows that you have more to learn about yourself. You’re growing and showing that you have more in store, incredible things that even you weren’t aware of that you can use to help people. That doesn’t make you bad, just uninformed. 

“No one ever really knows themselves completely, we’re all learning new things about ourselves, even if some discoveries are different than others.” He said calmly, his voice soft and soothing. Anxiety stared for a long moment, before letting out a tired laugh, barely audible but still there. Alex looked at him for a moment before slowly moving in, giving him a gentle hug. He waited for the hero to pull away, letting him decide the terms of comfort. Anxiety didn’t let go for quite a few minutes.

When he finally pulled away, helping Alex to his feet, he gave him a full smile, something that no one had ever seen Anxiety do, not in costume. He returned it. Anxiety spread out his wings, and Alex didn’t react in the slightest to seeing them suddenly appear, other than a fond look flashing in his eyes. He watched the hero take off, turning invisible once he reached the sky, but then he found something at his feet. 

It was a package, wrapped in dark paper, a thin purple ribbon holding it on. He picked it up and it was light as a feather, and he read the note.  _ It will contain whatever you need most.  _ He looked it over and thought. He opted not to ponder over it, after all, it would be whatever he needed, so he didn’t need to think about it. Instead he looked up to the sky, smiling at where the hero was moments before. He didn’t know if he’d ever meet him personally again, but he didn’t care all that much. It was a pleasant experience nonetheless.

Virgil flew away, heading for his home. Maybe he could explain to Patton, get him to pass on his apology. Maybe he could talk to Adara for a moment before she heard the story from the other side. Hopefully she’d tell everyone else, he knew he wouldn’t have enough time to gather them all. His wings beat faster than his thoughts, which was saying something. 

He had flown farther than he realized when he fled, never going in a straight direction but jerking around blindly while invisible. He was heading in a straight line back to his house, passing over a small island miles into the ocean, when a storm started brewing around him. He was just reaching the other side of it, about to have passed it completely, when he saw a blinding light, every nerve in his body igniting. He vaguely felt himself falling, his vision failing, and the last thing he saw was a stormcloud, a purple lightning bolt protruding from it. 


	8. My name is?

**???’s P.O.V.  
**

I groan, groggily opening my eyes. I blink in the harsh light, why am I outside? Waves lap at my feet and I roll over, only to feel a stabbing pain in my back. Except it’s not,,, my back? I glance behind me, and I see a horrific sight. Feathered limbs stick out from my back - wings? - but one of them is broken, blood pouring out and the bone almost visible. 

I wince, looking around. There’s some seaweed and driftwood nearby. I stumble over, almost limping, and I look down. My clothes are all torn, and I think there’s a cut on my foot because it hurts to walk on it. Saltwater helps cuts, right? I don’t know where this seemingly common knowledge is coming from, but if it helps me survive, then I don’t care all that much. I feel like I should be more worried, but I don’t know why. 

I sit down, squinting in the harsh sunlight, and I make myself a makeshift splint around the broken part of the wing. It’s at a very odd angle, almost falling off, and I try not to look at it too much. I do the same for my foot, it just makes it easier to walk, and I wander around. I find a nice cave and set up camp, gathering wood to make a small bonfire. I sigh, looking around, if only there was some flint nearby, isn’t that supposed to start fires? I laugh at myself, it’s not like willing it to be here will do anything. I leave the cave, I might as well look for a source of food, when I thankfully find flint at the foot of the cave. I set it by the wood and head out.

I use some of the giant leaves, weaving them together to make a doorway of sorts, and then weave some more together to create a mat and blanket to sleep on. I find a surprisingly sharp rock and fashion together a spear, laughing. It’s like I’ve gone back a few hundred years, back to before we had technology. 

I pause, thoughtful. What technology? I do a mental check of everything I know. I woke up here on this island, with nothing on me. I know some basic survival knowledge, and I’m pretty sure I’m doing better than most people would be in this situation, though I have nothing to base that on. I know of things like phones and cars, and what society is generally like, but that’s about it. 

It feels like I’m missing tons of important things, hell, I don’t even know my own name, but until I’m found, I’m not getting those memories back. For all I know I spontaneously spawned here. I guess I should choose a name then, if anyone finds me, I don’t want to just have nothing to say. I look up, at the dark clouds leaving the island, seemingly without doing anything. I feel a strange ache in my chest at the sight, like they were something I used to love, but I shake my head. There’s no use just feeling horrible. 

_ Stormcloud,  _ I decide, that’s my name for now.

I use my spear to go fishing, though I mostly just catch crabs. They’re good enough though, and there are plenty of coconuts around, so I’m good in the hydration department. I feel like the coconuts shouldn’t be here, but I remember that they just migrated here, and I shake my head. 

I pause again. Why the hell do I know that? That’s not pertinent information, that’s just a trivial fact! I sigh, I guess I knew a lot of random things. I start a fire, using a random plastic bucket I found full of saltwater as a failsafe. I fall asleep, tired from the day of activity. When I wake up the sun’s barely risen, but I start fishing again, this is my life until I can be rescued. I feel like a survival TV show, and at this point I don’t question my strange knowledge. I guess the technology we had allowed us to know so much that it wasn’t thought strange at all to know all these things. 

I arrange rocks on the sand, working through the day to spell out a simple message: SOS. I think it’s a more urgent variation of ‘help’, but I do make a smaller message next to it that actually says help, just in case. I start creating a huge bonfire on the beach, so if there’s a plane or boat passing nearby I’ll be able to flag them down. 

I keep my own fire running at all times, and a few days pass, following the same routine. 

I fish and gather food, reinforce my base as I build the bonfire, and go to sleep as soon as it becomes dark. My wing is slowly healing, and I discover that if I concentrate really hard I’ll find flint nearby, for some reason. I hear a super high pitched noise and wince, I don’t know why but I feel like it’s painful for anyone who hears it. It sounds like it’s coming from miles away, so it’s definitely not on the island, but then why can I hear it? 

There’s so much that doesn’t make sense, it’s like I’m missing a huge part of the puzzle. I try to focus on the associated pain, on the memories behind it, but my vision goes blurry, my mind fuzzy. I fall to my knees, a splitting pain in my skull. I reach out desperately, don’t I have a family? Someone who would be looking for me? It’s been almost a week, do they know where I am? How did I even get here?

The pain increases as I think about my family, there’s five blurry figures, all of them small, like children, but one of them is almost clear. I can see her silhouette more clearly, just barely able to make out details, but the more I try to focus on her the more it hurts. 

_ Her.  _ I latch onto the thought, clinging to it like a lifeline. I see her long hair, her fighting stance, but the pain erupts like a gunshot, splitting through any cognitive thought. The pain at the noise has something to do with her, but it doesn’t at the same time. I gasp for air, my arms giving out on me as I collapse on the sand. 

I lay there for a few minutes before catching my breath, shakily getting to my feet. 

I steel myself, setting my jaw as I make a decision. If it’s going to hinder my ability to survive, I won’t focus on my memories. It doesn’t matter, I can be my own person without knowing who I was back then, for all I know I was a complete asshole, there’s no point dwelling on it if I’m just going to collapse when I try to remember. 

I tell myself it’s for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : ) : ) : ) : )


	9. A Wild Discovery

Two more weeks pass in a blur, and at this point I’m mostly used to it. This is my life now, at least for the time being. I live on an island by myself, scavenging for water and hunting for food. I can create flint, but only if I focus really hard. It feels like I’m using some sort of ability, but I’m using it wrong. I don’t think it’s meant to be used to create things outright, but I don’t know how else to use it, and it’s helping me survive, so I don’t really care. 

My wing is halfway healed, maybe I’ll be able to make my way back to society once it’s healthy again, but the thought is daunting. Where would I start? Would I walk up to a random person and ask them if they know me? Would I go to the authorities? I don’t think wings are normal, how would I hide them? Do I even live  _ anywhere  _ near here? Maybe I live in a whole different country! If I was the only one who traveled here, then how am I supposed to reach my family? Those children can’t survive by themselves!

I feel a sharp pain in my head and sigh, shaking the thoughts away. I’ll deal with that when we get there, for now I’m just living day by day. I’m wandering around, exploring the island a bit more, when I hear a noise that sends chills down my spine. I turn around and there’s an animal at least twice my size, tusks sticking garishly out of its face and a murderous look on its face.  _ A wild boar  _ my mind helpfully supplies, and I remember another one of the random tidbits. They are one of the most dangerous animals to find in the wild. 

It stamps its feet, getting ready to charge, and I panic. I’m frozen in place, my heart pounding in my chest. It’s about to run at me when it pauses, looking up in confusion. I stare at it, shocked, and I glance at myself - only for my jaw to drop. My hands are translucent, I can still see them, but I can see the environment behind them. The boar makes a noise of frustration before wandering away, and I sigh in relief, my hands relaxing slightly on my fishing spear. I think I’m invisible, and I make my way back to camp. I look at my hands and focus, is this another strange ability? They look solid again and I sigh in relief.

I decide to experiment. I change back and forth with relative ease, and I look at the ground around me. I concentrate, this one seems to take a little more effort, and I watch as the flint materializes near me. I don’t break my focus though, and I will it out of existence, watching as it fades. I guess it goes both ways. I bring the flint back, with lots more of it, and I huddle in my cave for the day. I have enough food that I don’t have to stay outside in the scorching sun today, and I allow myself to relax in the shade. My fire is warm, the food is well-cooked, and the water is refreshing. 

It almost seems like a vacation, aside from the fact that it was against my will and I have no memories. Other than that it’s perfect!  _ Don’t forget about the deadly animals  _ I think sarcastically, but I smile. 

After an unclear amount of time, I hear a noise, overwhelmingly loud but quiet at the same time, and I scramble to my feet. It feels like it’s deafening, but at the same time it’s too far away to be so loud. I run onto the beach, holding a small torch. Since I don’t have any gasoline the torch won’t last long, so I have to make sure to hurry. There’s a helicopter hovering in the air and I sprint over to the bonfire, lighting it and watching as the smoke rises, and fast. I will the smoke to grow, to reach into the sky high enough that they can’t possibly ignore it, and I feel euphoric as the helicopter lowers, coming towards me.

I made a landing pad out of leaves and rocks so that if any aircraft had to land it wouldn’t send sand flying everywhere, the sand particles going that fast could be deadly after all, and it took a few days to complete. They see it and land there, a few hundred feet away, and the blades slowly spin to a stop. Someone runs out, rushing along the sand, and I smile at them. 

Their bright blue shirt contrasts the dull sand, standing out against the greens of the nearby forest and making them easy to see. A cardigan is draped over their shoulders, and I feel like they’re familiar, but I don’t know why. Maybe they’re a celebrity that I knew of? When they get close enough for me to properly see them I notice they have freckles all over them, and their curly hair is flopping around as they run. They seem to see me more clearly too and they start running faster, their smile widening in relief as their glasses almost fall off their face. They run right into me, hugging me like their life depends on it.

“Virgil!” He shouts, and he looks in dismay at my broken wing. “So that’s why you couldn’t escape.” He says sadly, and he reaches out to touch it. I flinch back, looking to him in confusion. He smiles kindly and I feel like I can trust him, so I nervously let him touch the black feathers. His hand glows for a moment and the pain leaves the appendage. Did he heal it? 

“You know me?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : )


	10. Oh. Oh no

“You know me?” I ask softly, confusion written across my face. I see his heart break for a moment, and he nods.

“Yes, of course I do. It’s me, Patton, Patton Foster?” He says, but I just keep staring, I feel like I should recognize the name, but I don’t. “You’re Virgil Storm?” He says quietly, and my face lights up.

“I am?” I ask excitedly, at least I have a name now. I laugh. “Well, that’s one piece of the puzzle. You know me!” I exclaim. “Do you know why I have wings? I’ve been able to create flint for some reason, and I think I turned invisible when I almost got attacked by a boar. Do I have a family? I remember blurry figures, I think they’re children, but I can’t remember. How did I end up here? Who was I?” I ask, the questions spilling out of me before I can stop myself. I see the pain on his face and pause, guilt eating away at me. “Sorry, I’m probably overwhelming you.” I say, and he shakes his head.

“You really don’t remember?” I shake my head, confused. Two other figures step out of the helicopter, making their way over to us.

“What’s taking so long?” Another one with glasses asks. He’s wearing a dark shirt and a tie, and I stifle a laugh. You don’t wear ties in day to day life, do you? The other is wearing a white shirt and a red scarf, and he huffs in the heat.

“Did I know them too?” I ask Patton, and he nods, tears in his eyes. The other two look between us in confusion.

“He doesn’t remember us.” He says, and I fidget with my hands. 

“I’m sorry.” I say softly. “I  _ want  _ to, but every time I tried to remember something my head would explode with pain.” I explain, desperate to make him feel better. For some reason it hurts to see him upset. Another person makes their way out of the helicopter, and I squint, trying to see who they are. They look like a child, but I think they’re the last one, it wasn’t big enough for anyone else to fit inside of. She makes her way over to us as fast as she can, and I feel a flash of pain as I see her.  _ She’s the girl I was remembering.  _ She sees me and runs over, hugging me tighter than Patton did. I hug her back hesitantly, and she looks up at me with relieved tears in her eyes.

“Thank god you’re okay! We were so worried, and you’ve been gone for weeks. When I heard you disappeared after the fight I thought you were hurt, but then you didn’t come back, not even appearing at home for a moment.” She says, tears starting to fall, and Patton rests a hand on her shoulder.

“Adara.” He says softly, and the name stirs something up in me. I see her, only three years old, looking at me with tears in her eyes. Why? Is she my daughter? She looks up at him.

“What?” She asks, noticing the tears streaming down his face.

“He- he doesn’t remember anything.” He says, and she glances between us.

“You’re lying.” She says, but I shake my head.

“I feel like I know you though. I don’t recognize any of them, but I feel like I’ve known you for a long time. I  _ want  _ to remember.” She stares, heartbroken, and clings onto Patton.

“This is a really cruel trick to play after disappearing for almost a month.” The one in white says, glaring at me. I tilt my head slightly, confused.

“Why would I be tricking you?” I look around at the, “Do we have a bad history? I don’t remember anything before waking up here.” I gasp “Oh god, did I hurt you guys? She mentioned a fight, did I-” My breathing grows ragged and Patton lays a gentle hand on my arm.

“No, it’s okay.” He says, and the one in white goes to protest. “Roman, don’t.” He says, and I mentally take note of that. His name’s Roman.  _ Why do I want to call him Princey?  _

“Tell us everything you remember.” The one in a tie says. I look to him for a moment before nodding, taking a deep breath.

“I woke up here, with a broken wing- which he just healed” I point to Patton, I feel like if I use their names they’ll think I’m lying. He nods in agreement. “And I decided to do my best to survive. I set up camp in that cave” I point to it and they glance over at the entrance, still covered with leaves. “And began to make signals and bonfires so I could be found. I kept remembering weird things, random facts that I really shouldn’t know, like that saltwater is supposedly good for cuts - not sure if that’s true - and that coconuts migrated here. Like I said, completely trivial things.” Roman and the other one seem disbelieving but they let me continue. “I found out that if I focus hard enough I can bring flint into existence, but I don’t think I’m supposed to be able to. I created a splint for my broken wing” I gesture to the seaweed and driftwood “and made a spear for fishing. I know some general things, but I don’t know how, like that phones and cars exist, and obviously boats and aircraft since that’s what I made the signals for.” I think “Oh! I also turned invisible, I’m pretty sure, a few hours ago, since I was about to get killed by a wild boar.” They just stare, and I sigh.

I focus again and turn myself invisible, but they just keep staring like they already knew that. I concentrate on my hands, leaving them invisible as I allow the rest of me to be seen. This seems to surprise them, though not by much. I look at the ground and watch as flint piles around me, and I shrug. “That’s about it. Can everyone else turn invisible? I don’t think I‘m supposed to be able to create stuff, it’s more like I’m willing it to exist. And you all don’t have wings, so why do I? How close am I to land? Do you know how I went missing? Why do I-” I freeze, hearing another of those horrible high pitched noises. I shudder. “What are those noises?” I ask, and they stare at me, confused. “You know, the really high pitched ones that sound like they’re coming from miles away?” I ask, but they just shake their heads. Well, at least, everyone except the little girl, - Adara they said her name was - a look of understanding flashes in her eyes.

“Are you hearing the Illicites?” She asks, and I scrunch my nose up. I feel like I’m supposed to recognize that name, and everyone else shifts uncomfortably at the mention of them. “You know, they let out really high pitched noises that knock people out?” I stare, an image coming to mind “Humans aren’t supposed to be able to hear them.” She adds, and my mind flashes. She was knocked out by them.  _ Twice.  _ Why does that make me so angry? And why does it make me angry at Roman and the other person? “They’re really painful?” She sounds like she’s grasping at straws. I start pacing.

“I’m only remembering bits and pieces, but they don’t make sense. I remember five blurry figures, and yours was the one that was the clearest, but I still couldn’t properly see you. I feel like you’ve had them used on you, but I don’t know  _ why,  _ and why don’t I remember anything? How did I end up here? How long have I known all of you? Why does the last name Storm sound so fake? It feels like-” I stop short, my eyes wide. “I made it up.” I say, and they look at me in confusion.

“What do you mean? It’s your  _ name.”  _ Roman says incredulously, and I shake my head.

“Not my birth name. I repressed that a long time ago, so I wouldn’t be able to remember even if I remembered everything else. I ran away when I was younger, only five years old.  _ That’s  _ when I first became invisible, when I first used my wings. I told the people who found me that my last name was Storm, and they couldn’t find my parents because there was no one with that last name.” My wings twitch behind me. I glance at my hands, forcing them to become visible again, I kinda forgot they were invisible. 

“You never told even me that.” Adara says, and I look at her, an indescribable emotion lingering in my chest, before sighing.

“I guess that means you can’t use it to verify then, can you?” I shake my head. 

“He’s not lying.” The one in a tie says, sighing. They all seem to take it as fact, and I bite my lip. I feel images flashing in my head, but they’re not from my perspective. They’re from- I lock eyes with Adara. Us fighting against Roman, Logan  _ \- that’s his name -  _ rushing in to stop it, Patton having already joined our side. I see Kennedy and Liam laughing together, Mara talking with Lillith, Adara talking with me alone before we met them. It feels like my head’s going to burst. 

They’re not my memories, they don’t help me remember, but I don’t think she’s lying to me. It gives me those memories back, but only the exact moments she showed me, nothing else. I sigh, bringing myself back to the present, trying to ease the pain, but I look around and my heart sinks.

A storm is rolling in. 


	11. Tearing Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A mini-chapter to stave you over until I can edit/clean up the next few chapters

Electricity crackles, a brighter color than it should be, the same storm that rolled in weeks ago.  _ Wait, what?  _ It’s not natural, that much is obvious, and how else could it be over us in seconds. My instincts kick in, the hairs rising on my arms. My wings lift me a few inches into the air and they all pause their conversations, looking at me in confusion. 

My blood is pumping, the adrenaline rushing through my body. I see the purple lightning and my eyes flash, but it doesn’t leave the clouds yet, not until it’s over the island. I’m starting to panic now, and as it strikes a tree nearby, turning it to ash with one strike, I flinch back violently, almost landing in the water. Adara glances at me, then at the dead tree, and I can practically see the gears turning in her mind. The lightning strikes closer and my fight or flight instincts kick in.

“ **Everyone inside the cave,** **_now.”_ ** I say, my voice corrupting, and they all look at me with worry. Adara looks at me one final time before running for the cave. Lightning almost hits her but she creates a force-field around herself, and I briefly see her in a backyard, a baseball flying back at me as she closes her eyes. I fly a few feet higher, attracting the electricity to myself. They don’t hesitate now, running after her, and I duck in after them, hiding out in the cave. I’m gasping for air as I get inside, the corruption gone from my voice. “That's- that’s how I got here. I was flying- flying over the island - back  _ back-”  _

I’m pulling at my hair, my eyes flashing with a thousand different memories. My thoughts are racing and I see myself falling, the blinding white light, the  _ pain, oh god, the pain,  _ the lightning bolt as I fell from the sky. I gasp for air “Back, back to my house, I - I needed - no - no-” Tears are forming in my eyes and Adara steps forwards, and it occurs to me that she’s an empath, she can tell everything I’m feeling right now. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so,  _ so  _ sorry.” She comes forwards, hugging me.

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay.” She says, and I cling onto her, the tears falling faster and faster until I can’t see anything. My wings wrap around her instinctively, enclosing her in a tight embrace. 

“I was going to apologize - I couldn’t just leave it - I knew you’d” I gasp again, it’s hard to breathe, hard to think, but I  _ need  _ to explain “I knew you’d hate me, I knew it, but I had to explain, had to tell someone” Adara holds on tighter “I was flying over the island and was struck - struck by  _ that  _ lightning - purple lightning - and I fell and it  _ hurt  _ and I couldn’t  _ see  _ and I landed here with no memories” Realization strikes me like a knife in the back “And, oh god, I abandoned you guys after that fight for  _ weeks,  _ just disappeared off the face of the planet, no explanation or anything. I’m so,  _ so  _ sorry.” The tears still stream down my face, but for once, it feels okay. Like I’m  _ allowed  _ to show these emotions, that it’s safe to do so. And that’s what makes me break all the more.


	12. Changing Perspectives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, I am unsure as of yet, but as this goes on it might get shippy. Again, I'm not sure if I will actually make any ships real in this, but it is a possibility

Adara was stunned. She’d never, in her entire  _ life,  _ seen her father break down like this. He was always so composed, so cheerful, so full of life, and right now it was taking everything in her to keep from breaking as well. She felt  _ everything,  _ the true pain in his words, the sincerity, the dizzying guilt and regret. But worst of all, she felt his sudden break, his walls crumbling to the ground. She felt him feeling safe, for the first time, and it made her realize that it was something she’d never felt from him. He’d never felt fully safe, always with an edge of nervousness or anxiety, always scared something might happen. 

The fear only worsened after she was kidnapped, and she was surprised she knew that, considering she couldn’t feel his emotions beforehand. The fact that she had known at all without feeling them meant that it must’ve been enough to show, and now she could feel it easing away, but in the worst way possible. He wasn’t safe because there were no threats, or because he was feeling happy and calm with the life he had.

He was forced into a breakdown, right in front of them, and finally gave up on feeling scared of them turning him away for it. He had given up on the fear, because he didn’t have the energy to continue being afraid for his life while he was sobbing on the ground. He was clinging onto her, showing her a vulnerable side that he’d never shown anyone, and it was because he was forced into it. He didn’t get to disclose that side of him when he felt comfortable, he didn’t get to feel safe by finally overcoming his anxiety. He almost died, lost his memories, and  **_broke down_ ** when he got them back. Meaning there was enough pain already there that he always kept hidden, that he physically didn’t have the energy to anymore.

Patton was staring with horror. He’d never really known Virgil, never gotten close to him even after joining him before the other heroes did. The closest he’d gotten to really knowing Virgil was when Anxiety had shown up at his doorstep, holding Adara in his arms, her ribs broken. That was a small moment of vulnerability he had allowed Patton to see, but only because Adara was in danger. In fact, the only times  _ any  _ of them had seen him showing any sign of weakness, in battle or otherwise, was because of Adara - and more recently, the other children - almost always for her safety. So to see him, willingly breaking down - as he was an empath too, though they often forgot - and right in front of them no less, he was completely thrown off. He saw a side of Virgil he’d never seen before.

He’d always known that he could be tough and intimidating. More recently, he’d learned that he was a very caring father. But now, now he was seeing  _ Virgil.  _ Not the villain, not the father, but the full person. The person who’d been scared his whole life, enough to have his alter ego be  _ literally named Anxiety,  _ who’d ran away as a kid, who had been villianified at such a young age, who’d never been able to have a happy family. Who finally gained a family, only to have it constantly risked by those supposed to protect everyone. To bring everyone together at last, only to lose memory of it all. The person whose life had been torn apart by tragedy, despite him trying to put it back together at every moment.

Logan was trying to piece everything together. Anxiety and Virgil were two different personas, all encapsulated in one person. But in neither dynamic between them, whether it was the heroes and Anxiety, or Patton, Logan, and Roman with Virgil, was he one to show emotion so openly. There was no possibility of it being an act, for he’d expect them to not know, and wouldn’t want them to think he had really been breaking down in front of them. But why would he, in any circumstance, allow them to see this? He had done well enough at hiding all emotions besides pride and aloofness, and he knew his daughter would see through it anyways, so there was no point doing it just because he wanted her to know how he actually felt.

Was it the trauma? He had been so open with them before regaining his memories, perhaps that was a lasting effect? Or maybe he just couldn’t close himself off enough before the breakdown started? Maybe he’d continue to be open with them for the rest of the time they knew each other? He seemed to have slowly walled himself off due to childhood trauma, if his earlier statements were anything to go by. Maybe now that they knew about it, now that they’d seen him without that preexisting boundary, he’d be more open with them? Maybe his walls wouldn’t stay built, after they had been so carelessly ripped away. 

He was most curious about the lightning though, how it was able to remove memories, how it seemed supernatural, like someone had created it with purpose.

Roman was the most conflicted of the four, staring with suspicious eyes. Virgil had attacked them, had mercilessly sent acid-spitting shadow things to relentlessly hurt them, but then had suddenly backed out, had suddenly broke and fixed everything he’d done - including healing their injuries. Then disappeared, for almost an entire month, with no communication, no warning, nothing. He hadn’t even bothered to try explaining his end of the fight to his daughter, or to his other children for that matter. He had just up and left, with no explanation. 

But then he felt a sudden guilt as he watched him break down. This wasn’t just Anxiety, some ruthless villain he’d fought. This was Virgil, someone who’d obviously struggled through his own journey and had his own regrets in life. Someone who looked like they needed saving.

And just like that he was rethinking everything. How much pain had he caused? How much of his own actions had he ignored because ‘he was the hero’? How long had he been hurting people under his idea of heroism? 

How long had he been hurting Virgil when he should’ve been there to save him?

And Adara, oh god, Adara. How had he managed to justify that? How had he managed to think it was okay? That he was in the right? Sure, he hadn’t  _ meant  _ to cause those damages, had never intended to hurt Adara or her family. But he  _ had.  _ It didn’t matter what he  _ meant  _ to do, he had torn her family apart.

And the worst part was he hadn’t even cared. Had thought it was okay just because ‘he was the hero’. How was he the hero in that situation? Had he ever really been the hero? Or was he just pretending to get the approval of others? How much of his whole life had been just an act to  _ seem  _ like a hero? 

He knew he couldn’t make this right. He knew he’d  _ never  _ be able to make up for all the horrible things he’d done. Especially after he’d already ‘tried’ to be better, and had continued his bullshit. But he would do whatever it took to fix even half of what he’d done. And he knew where he would start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3
> 
> Also, school started yesterday for me, so I might be updating less frequently, but I'll try to stay on top of it


	13. Creating Corrections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm not dead, I lost motivation for a bit but there are some chapters already written, so expect some of those out soon. Hopefully I can actually finish this, but don't hold your breaths

And he knew where he would start.

“The lightning.” He said, and all attention turned to him. “It was obviously supernatural, and based on its behavior, it was  _ created  _ by someone. Which means someone is targeting you.” He said, and Virgil nodded, wiping away his tears. 

“I mean, that’s nothing new.” He said, a self-deprecating smile on his face. Adara clung tighter to him, it was strange and new to see her dad in pain, and she didn’t want it to become a common occurrence. Roman frowned, feeling even worse, but he continued.

“We need to stop them though, before something even worse happens. You saw what it did to that tree, you’re lucky it didn’t kill you when it hit you the first time.” He said earnestly, and Virgil looked at him in confusion. While he was glad he hadn’t died, he hadn’t expected Roman, of all people, to particularly care, especially when he’d seemed mad only moments before.

“We’d have to wait out the storm first, I’m not risking anyone else getting hurt by it.” He said, standing up. He could feel his walls rebuilding as he closed himself off again, but this time it wasn’t just because he was uncomfortable. This was a battle, and there was no room for personal feelings when it came to battle.

No one mentioned his breakdown as they began planning how they would find whoever was creating it, and trying to figure out why they were specifically targeting Virgil. Eventually the storm passed and Adara was the first one to urge them to get in the helicopter and head back home before they lost the opportunity.

Virgil had to admit, it was a weird feeling. While he’d certainly flown before, and he had ridden in a helicopter occasionally, it still felt odd to raise straight off the ground before starting to actually move around. Just before getting in he flickered between shadow and human form, appearing in the non-torn version of the clothes he’d been wearing when he’d crashed. 

Adara clung to him the entire time, refusing to leave his side until they reached home, and even then she remained close. He knew he’d have a lot of explaining to do, and he still felt horrible for disappearing on them. And he had still never properly apologized for the fight either, but Roman and Logan seemed to be purposefully avoiding the topic, so he left it alone for the time being.

Liam was the first one to ask what had happened, and Patton got them all to agree that they’d explain together  _ after  _ he made them all cookies. Everyone was happy to oblige, so an hour later everyone sat in one of the main living rooms, the Tv on but muted as they began to explain.

It was a difficult process, all of them trying to be informative without bringing up parts that were sensitive or uncomfortable for the others. The kids were surprised to see everyone working together to make each other comfortable, it was something they’d never really been good at. Sure, on their own, each of them was a varying degree of good at accommodating others, but they’d never seen eye-to-eye, let alone purposefully quieted themselves so the others could feel comfortable and secure.

“Alright,” Mara began when they’d finally finished explaining everything. “Of course, that was very stressful, and definitely something we’ll need to talk about more, but my first concern is,” She bit her lip, looking around at them all “Both Virgil Storm and Anxiety disappeared for almost a month, at the same time, and now are suddenly back. We need a cover story, and quick.” Virgil’s eyes widened and he buried his face in his hands, a startling sight for everyone there.

“I feel horrible.” He said, and Patton laid a supportive hand on his shoulder, a questioning look on his face. Virgil met his eyes looking distressed “Just before all of this I decided I wanted to start a foster home since I have too many houses anyways, and I spoke with someone about getting it started. Literally days later I disappeared and became unreachable for a month. To the woman there - and the kids especially - it must’ve seemed like I was just a celebrity trying to appear like a good samaritan and then not actually caring and abandoning them.” He explained, and he was already near tears. He knew how awful it must’ve felt as the realization slowly set in that he wasn’t coming back.

Adara tugged on his sleeve and he pulled his hands away from his face, looking down at her in confusion. As much as he trusted her, she couldn’t erase the pain he had caused them, and he was certainly going to be considered another untrustworthy adult to the children.

“Obviously we can’t reveal everything, but from a medical standpoint you were out of commission.” She said nervously, and his frown was quickly replaced with an intrigued yet worried expression. “Say you were in a really bad car accident or something, the media will be quick to pick up on that. And of course you wouldn’t want people knowing you were hurt or they’d find out where you were and pester you at all hours of the day.” She said, and Lillith smiled shyly, speaking up.

“And Anxiety has disappeared for long stretches at a time anyways, it’s not too suspicious. If you were planning something with the heroes - say, trying to find out what was going on with the mysterious lightning people must’ve noticed, and they can vouch for you.” She offered, and Virgil smiled gently at them. Honestly, he didn’t know how he’d managed without them.

“You guys are too good for me.” He said, and there were smiles all around. Adara was quick to embrace him, and within moments it was a giant group hug. Patton was happy to join, and eventually Liam pulled in Logan and Roman, much to their surprise. Logan was just shocked, while Roman offered a tentative smile. No one knew how long they stayed there, but none of them really wanted it to end.

Eventually though they had to pull away, and the house quickly became a flurry of action. Everyone had a task, and they were quick to tend to it. Virgil was speaking with his agents to spread the social media story that he’d just recovered from a hospital visit with all the details needed - including that they’d made the hospital sign a contract of non-disclosure which is why no one knew - as he paced his office, absent-mindedly listening to what everyone else was doing in the house. 

Roman was speaking up on his few social media accounts as Prince to speak on behalf of Anxiety’s disappearance, as well telling people to message him if they noticed any strange lightning meeting the description he gave, and to not mess with it as it could instantly kill them. Logan was also backing him on the one account he had under Logic’s name, as well as telling people to steer clear of the island despite their curiosity, as trying to be heroic would result in instant death that there was no way to hide from.

Patton was reaching out to the orphanage on behalf of Virgil, claiming he was still recovering and that, as they might’ve seen already due to the rapidly spreading story, Virgil had been out of commission and was still planning to follow through on his claims as soon as he was physically able. He provided all proof needed and made sure the children were taken care of while everyone else was still focused on their objectives, just like he’d been doing for the past month that Virgil wasn’t there.

Adara was just glad that she had her dad back and that he was, for the most part, unharmed. She was the first to reassure Kennedy, Liam, Mara and Lillith that he would be fine, and that he’d dealt with worse before. They were grateful for the reassurance, and went to bed sleeping better than they had in almost a month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, have y'all seen the new Sanders Asides? Because asdhgfslkdgldh  
> It gave me life, feelings, and motivation, so go watch it if you haven't


	14. Memories Best Left Forgotten

A week had passed and everyone was settling back into their usual routines, though there was still awkwardness between Virgil and the heroes. Patton was doing his best to keep everyone calm and comfortable, but there was only so much he could do, and Virgil insisted he rested after doing so much while he was gone.

Adara had come much farther in her training over the month, throwing herself into getting as strong as she could so she could step in for her dad if needed. She knew, really, that Virgil never would’ve let her, even if he was fatally wounded, but she couldn’t just stand and do nothing while he was potentially in danger.

Mara and Lillith had taken to watching her train - they couldn’t do much, considering they didn’t have powers, and Logan had been too preoccupied to teach them self-defense, but it was fascinating to see just how her powers worked. 

Kennedy had started exploring the mansion, they wanted to know every nook and cranny of the huge house, and though they hadn’t managed to explore everywhere, they were making decent progress. Virgil had given them all maps when they first moved in, but they always left theirs behind, they wanted to see how well they could manage without it.

Liam had started drawing, and while he hadn’t made much progress skill-wise, he found it was a calming outlet. He had been planning on joining Lillith and Mara in learning self-defense, but when that didn’t end up happening he decided to experiment with the different art supplies they had. 

Now that he was back they were trying to settle back into how it had been before, but something just wasn’t right. Continuing to act like Virgil was their strong yet lighthearted father after they’d seen him break down - seen his walls start to crack as he showed just how much fear he held, they couldn’t just pretend that it hadn’t happened.

Virgil was nervous to be around them now. He still loved them with all his heart, but they had seen a side of him he’d hoped they’d never have to deal with. He knew he was broken, he had always known, but he never wanted to burden them with having to worry about him like this. They walked on eggshells around him, and guilt weighed on him for making them have to worry about him when they already had so much on their shoulders. 

Patton was insisting he held back on going through with the preparations for the foster home until he was well and fully recovered, and though he was hesitant, he agreed. He made sure to at least visit the kids however to reassure in person that the second he was deemed fit enough to get everything in order, he would. 

In the meantime, he resolved to finally talk with Logan and Roman about what had happened that day. They had danced around the issue, practically avoiding him with the excuse of handling their tasks, purposefully busying themselves in order to evade the uncomfortable conversation.

He managed to get them alone one night in the backyard, talking under the fruit trees when he found them. They immediately fell silent, looking worried and almost guilty, but he tried to brush it off. The kids were already heading to bed, and Patton was helping the staff clean, at his own insistence. 

“Heyyy Virgil.” Roman said, wincing. Logan gave a curt nod.

“Greetings.” Virgil just nodded in return, fidgeting with his hands. Roman and Logan didn’t know how to react to him being so openly nervous, for once not hiding every emotion he felt around them. 

“Look, guys, I know it’s not the  _ most  _ comfortable subject,” He began, his voice quiet and uneasy “But we need to talk about the fight.” He said, and the two of them shared anxious glances.

“What in particular do you want to address?” Logan asked, adjusting his tie out of habit. Roman was prepared for him to go off, to start shouting about what they’d done, to tell them they weren’t welcome, and was surprised when he let out a defeated sigh.

“I’m sorry.” This immediately got their attention, their eyes snapping to meet his as they saw the genuine guilt on his face. “I shouldn’t have let myself get so out of control, and you were hurt because of it. I apologize.” He said, swallowing his pride. He knew he wasn’t entirely at fault, but he also knew that he had gone too far. They were on his side, and he’d attacked them.

It didn’t matter that he’d healed them afterwards, it didn’t matter how much they’d frustrated him, or that they fought back. In his mind, he had done something horrible, and he needed to apologize before they decided he wasn’t worth the trouble anymore. Roman and Logan shared almost horrified looks, and Roman tentatively spoke up.

“Virgil,” He glanced up, his anxiety eating away at him. “Do you... actually remember everything that happened that day?” He asked, and Virgil looked at him curiously.

“I didn’t have any long-term memory loss from the lightning, if that’s what you’re asking.” He said, and Logan shook his head.

“It was a while ago, I don’t think you fully remember.” Virgil bit his lip, his worry growing.

“What happened?” He asked cautiously, and Roman sighed.

“It was... entirely our fault.” Virgil looked almost incredulous. “I don’t know how much you actually remember, but...” He sighed again, trying to find the right words while simultaneously fighting the urge to just lie to make it sound better. Virgil deserved better than a shitty lie after what he’d gone through. “We’d been antagonizing you all day, bickering over whether you were really on our side, or if you were going to turn at any moment. I made a claim that you were just waiting for the right chance to become a villain again.” Virgil almost didn’t believe him, but it seemed right, and Logan didn’t dispute it.

“You retorted that you had never been a villain, that we’d only seen you that way, and Roman started to raise his voice, arguing that you’d tried to kill him. I saw the fight about to start and stepped in, backing Roman.” Logan said, regret laced in his voice.

“It quickly became a full-fledged argument, and we had already been out on patrol at the time, so we ended up stopping at the abandoned parking garage so we weren’t fighting out in the open. I said something I don’t think I could ever justify, and you just... snapped. I don’t know how much of the actual fight you remember, but-” Virgil cut him off gently, confused and almost fearful, but the pieces were starting to fall into place. 

“I remember everything that happened when we were actually fighting, and everything after that obviously. I just have one question,” He glanced between the two of them, unsure if he even wanted the answer. “What did you say?” He asked carefully. Roman looked pained even thinking about it, but he would swallow his pride. He’d already made enough mistakes, if he was going to be a better person, he needed to own up. 

“I said,” He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst “‘You’re probably a terrible father, you’ll just end up killing all of your kids in a fit of rage.’” He rubbed his arm sheepishly. “Or something to that effect. I’m sorry.” Virgil felt like he’d been stabbed. Not entirely because of what Roman said, but because he  _ remembered.  _

**_How? How could he say that?!_ ** _ Did he even know half of what he’d been through? Half of the pain he’d suffered? Did he really think he’d sink so low, as to become the one thing he’d feared since he was barely old enough to speak? How could he claim he would become just like the people who’d made him despise the world in the first place? _

_ If he knew one thing about himself, one thing that was true no matter if he was Anxiety or Virgil or Storm or whatever his name had been, it was that he would rather die than become like his parents. Than become like the only role models he’d had since birth. His birth parents, ready to kill him at a seconds notice - the reason he’d ran when they started to shout - and all of those who had taken him in over the years. He’d had maybe  _ **one** _ good experience, and he’d ran before he could feel safe enough to get hurt. _

_ How  _ **_dare_ ** _ he suggest he would be so cruel? Would lose control so easily that he’d do something so horrendous? How could he even conceive the possibility without laughing to himself at the insanity of it? And how could say it like it was a valid claim? Like he’d snap any moment? _

_ He was done. He was so, so done with letting them stomp all over him, treat him like shit, and then guilt him into going along with their plans because they were ‘on his side now’. He couldn’t stand one more moment of holding back just because they’d claimed to turn over a new leaf. So what if they hadn’t hurt him yet - they were waiting for the chance to claim he had been a villain along, ready to pounce the second he showed an ounce of negativity.  _

_ If they wanted a fight, they would get a fight. _

_ Even still, Virgil’s mind was battling him. Begging him not to attack, not to start it. But sparks flickered on Princey’s hands, Logic’s powers manifesting again, and he couldn’t bring himself to care anymore. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo boy. We're starting to catch up with what I already had written, but luckily motivation is starting to come back to me, so I'm quickly adding more to the story.  
> I have big plans for this, and I know a general outline of where the story is going, but it will take a little while to get there. Hang in there!


	15. Responsible Reactions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo boy, this is going to be much longer than I planned. I currently am working on the 21st chapter, but I'm spacing out posting the ones I already have written because I never know when I'm gonna lose motivation and I don't want to have a sudden lack of content

_. . .  _

_ Oh. _

...

So  **that** was why they’d been avoiding the topic. 

He couldn’t quite process everything. For one, he’d just relived an event that he didn’t know how to begin to come to terms with. And second, not only had they spoken with him about it even though they obviously hadn’t wanted to, they hadn’t sugarcoated it or even tried to soften the blow.

What really threw him though was the sheer guilt and regret on both of their faces. It was something new, and it really stood out against their actions before. They had  _ claimed  _ to have turned over a new leaf, become better, learned from their mistakes, but they had never really, and he could see that clearly by the complete contrast with how they were acting now.

They were ashamed of their actions, yet took full responsibility, and owned up to their mistakes when they could’ve easily made something up when he hadn’t remembered it - and no one else had been there, for him to get the truth from. Sure, it didn’t excuse their behaviour - but they recognized that. They were clearly not expecting him to just be okay with what had happened, and instead of growing defensive, they seemed to have resigned themselves to whatever he decided would be the best response. 

It wasn’t perfect. They had both done something horrible, and while he hadn’t been entirely in the wrong for his actions, he still had his regrets as well. But if he knew one thing about mistakes, he could recognize that they were making progress.

They were flawed. That was something he had to come to terms with. And sure, maybe their flaws were a little deeper than most, but they had also done the most - when they’d first formed their team - to fight for what was right. They’d lost themselves along the way, and Virgil didn’t fully trust them yet, especially not after what he’d just learned, but he could appreciate that they were trying. 

He could be upset with what happened and recognize that they were upset at themselves too. 

He brushed his hair back, letting out a deep breath. It was a lot to process, especially all at once. But the good thing was - he didn’t have to handle it all right there. He had  _ time,  _ time to slowly accept what had happened, get a more clear view on what had happened, and decide how he wanted to go forwards. 

But for now, it was late, and they all needed sleep. 

“That’s... a lot to take in.” He said, and they waited nervously for his reaction. “But for now, I think we should all get some rest. This is obviously more complicated than I first realized, and we can properly deal with it later.” He said calmly, and they looked to him in surprise.

“Are you sure?” Logan asked tentatively, not wanting to poke at him when he was vulnerable, but not wanting him to just shut down again because he thought it was best. Virgil nodded.

“We’ve got a lot to do in the morning anyways, better to function on a proper amount of sleep.” He said with a small smile, and Roman was stunned. After everything that had just happened, after everything he’d done... Virgil wasn’t mad. 

Or, well, he didn’t know that. But Virgil wasn’t screaming at them. He wasn’t starting a fight. He wasn’t doing everything that he expected him to do, everything he  _ should  _ do, by all means. He certainly wasn’t happy with it, but still, he was calm, and he was concerned about their wellbeing.

He knew it was foolish to hope, especially after everything that had transpired, but maybe, just maybe, this was a sign of a new beginning? Maybe they could learn from their past mistakes and grow to be friends?

He dismissed the thought. Even if that was true, it was too much to hope after such a small interaction. And if it turned out Virgil hated their guts and never wanted to see them again once he fully came to terms with what happened, well, he could respect that. 

They headed inside, Logan and Roman heading to their respective guest rooms that they’d been staying in, and Virgil setting out to find Patton. He knew he, of all of them, needed sleep the most, but he couldn’t just let Patton ignore his own health for a task that people were already being paid heavily to do. 

They had a hushed conversation in the halls when he finally found him, but eventually he convinced Patton that he didn’t have to help. He had already done so much, without so much as thinking of himself, Virgil insisted he took some time for himself for the next week. Patton was surprised that Virgil noticed his own deteriorating health - both mental and physical - but he reluctantly agreed that he would rest, so long as Virgil didn’t stress himself out too much while he wasn’t around.

Virgil tried to get him to stay, after all, he’d be much better taken care of in his house - or even one of the other homes he owned that he rarely visited, if he wanted to be alone - than in his own home, but he wouldn’t force him to stay away from his home if he wanted. He made sure that he was completely taken care of financially, even though Patton tried to insist he couldn’t take the money - he argued that he had  _ way  _ too much to ever use it anyways, and Patton agreed to stay the night at least.

Finally, Virgil went to bed himself, but not before checking in on each of the kids, resting peacefully in their beds. It was a sight he had missed, seeing them so at ease, gently drifting off. If he was honest, that night in the cave with Adara clinging to him, he was afraid that he’d never see it again.

How happy he was to be proven wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp  
> Virgil's having an... interesting time right now. Let's just add this to the list of ~Trauma~ that he isn't dealing with
> 
> Oh god  
> I just realized, while writing  
> Virgil's kids haven't had a major role in the story since chapter 5  
> Welp  
> Uhhhh  
> They're coming back now?  
> But now is the chapter I'm currently writing, not the next chapter, so uhh  
> Have fun?


	16. New Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, 2 chapters in one day  
> ...  
> I may or may not have written 4 chapters today  
> So I'm feeling better about posting the chapters I already have written  
> Also this is a bit of a long one so you're in for a treat

Virgil was growing restless, and he couldn’t wait any longer. Personal need for rest be damned, he needed to be there for those kids, he had made them wait long enough. Patton tried to stop him, but not very hard. He knew that he wasn’t going to stop Virgil, so he just advised him to not forget to take care of himself, and to take breaks when he needed.

Of course, before he actually did anything, he checked in with Adara, Mara, Lillith, Liam, and Kennedy, to make sure  _ they  _ were okay with it. He didn’t want to add more stress to their lives if they weren’t ready for it. The arrangements were made, and Virgil was happier than ever.

They were using a different one of his houses, it was close enough nearby that it would only take 20 minutes to travel between them - less if he went without being seen - and he had informed all staff there of what he was doing. He assured that they would be paid more - after all, they were changing from having to deal with him rarely there to him being there half the time and 8 kids living there as well. 

Patton, Logan, and Roman had agreed that they’d be happy to hang around whenever he couldn’t be there, and Adara and her siblings were happy to visit whenever they could. Virgil was doing everything he could to ensure the experience would be the best possible for the kids, he had gotten maps of the building put up everywhere, with ‘you are here’ checkpoints on all of them, and had printed out a floorplan for each of the children as well. 

He had prepared all of the bedrooms to be fit for whoever chose it, giving them freedom over which one they wanted to be in. There weren’t really any house rules, as long as they didn’t hurt each other, he didn’t particularly care if they broke anything.

Another thing on his mind was that he had  _ way  _ too many houses, what was the point of having mansions if they didn’t get used? He didn’t want to put his staff out of a job though. Perhaps he could turn the other houses into homeless shelters? It wasn’t a bad idea.

Still, he refocused himself. He had ordered a limo for the kids to ride in - he was sure it would be a hell of an experience for them, and he had stocked it with all the candy and devices they could want. He  _ rarely  _ rode in anything fancy, in fact, he drove a rather regular car most of the time, it attracted less attention, but he wanted only the best for the kids. After all, while the orphanage was nice, they barely had anything, and their funding was very low. 

He showed up, a nervous smile on his face. If it hadn’t been for the limo, he would’ve looked like practically any other person. Sure, his hair had been dyed purple, but that wasn’t too unusual in the city, and his clothes weren’t any expensive name brand. 

Some of the kids were pressed against the window, staring in awe at the black limo, others sat in the corners, looking grumpy and distrusting. Virgil didn’t let it sway him, and walked in with a grin. Mrs. Julian greeted him with an anxious smile, pulling him aside for a moment.

“Alright, I have everything confirmed. Just sign here as a final agreement, and you’re good to go. I already explained everything to them, and that they were to go with you once you arrived.” She said, and he nodded, happily signing his name. She waved for him to go back to the kids, and he stood in front of them for a moment, taking notes of who was who.

“Hello, everyone. I’m sure she already told you, but I’m welcoming you into my home. The car’s right outside, if you’re all ready to go.” He said, and Carlee scowled at him, tucking a curl behind her ear.

“Yeah, because you totally care about us all and aren’t going to hurt us.” She said, and Remus stood up, looking somewhat angry as well, though certainly less so than her.

“You’re friends with my brother, how do I know you aren’t just going to hand us over to him? How can we trust you?” Virgil blinked, concern coming across his face.

“I know it’s hard to trust me, after all I am quite a stranger to you, but I assure you, all I want is to ensure that you’re safe and happy. If that means that you don’t belong in my home, then I am happy to accommodate you, but I want to at least give you all a chance with me.” He said, trying his best to not sound condescending. He knew how easy it was to accidentally talk down to kids, and he would hate to do that to them, especially when it was already a hard experience. 

“I’m ready to go!” Sophia said, bounding up with a smile. She had a small bag in her arms as she stood by Virgil’s side, and Virgil felt his heart pang. They had so little, almost nothing. He never wanted them to have to go through what he had.

“Me too!” Laura said, walking forwards excitedly. Jake was quick after her, not wanting to leave his sister. 

Mariah glanced at Carlee, who she’d been sitting next to, frowning to herself. As much as she wanted to go forwards, she had adapted to Carlee today, and she was afraid to change in front of Virgil. He could sense her hesitance, and was about to speak up, when Michael stood up.

“Come on, Mariah, let’s just go.” She looked up with wide eyes. She and Michael had only been relatively close, but he was the only one who had really paid attention to her, so she didn’t want to disagree. But she was with Carlee today. Surely she couldn’t just change - or god forbid not be with anyone. That got her punished before, even if it didn’t here. She wasn’t risking it.

“I get it, you know.” Virgil said, and Carlee and Remus glanced at each other. 

They’d barely interacted before, but they seemed to be the only ones who even thought of not trusting the stranger. Janus was being quiet, trying not to start a fight but silently wishing for Remus to just go. While he most definitely didn’t trust Virgil, he didn’t want to cause a scene, it was better to go and come back than to stay forever.

“Get what?” Remus demanded, and Virgil gave him a gentle look.

“I was in the system until I was 18. Shuffled around through homes, no one was particularly… kind… to me. I don’t want you guys to have to go through that. But I understand not trusting me, especially if you’ve had a similar experience. I just hope I can provide a safe place for you.” Remus softened slightly, though he was still defensive. 

Carlee gave him a suspicious glance before letting out a huff. “Fine, but if you don’t hold up to your claims you’re not getting away scot free.” She said, and Virgil gave a soft smile as she picked up her back. Mariah grinned, taking Michael’s hand and walking over to Virgil as well. Remus glared.

“If you force me to interact with my brother, I’ll kill you.” He said, and Mrs. Julian looked on with concern. She was worried he’d ruin a perfectly good chance due to his mistrust. Virgil just nodded, that was fair enough. Remus finally sighed, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Janus followed quickly behind.

Sophia was the most excited about being in the limo, running around inside and grabbing from the bowls of candy. Carlee laughed sarcastically, smirking as she took a seat.

“Ah yes, go into the strange vehicle and take candy from a stranger.” She muttered, and Virgil shrugged, taking one of the two proper seats up front, though they swiveled a full 360° so he could face them. He was on their side of the partition, and he pulled down the window just long enough to tell the driver they were ready, closing it immediately after.

“Do you have an art room?” Jake asked, and Laura listened intently. Virgil chuckled.

“A few of them, actually.” He said, and they looked like he’d just promised them each a million dollars (nevermind the fact that he would gladly give it to them if they asked). 

“How big is the house?” Laura asked, and Virgil gave a sheepish smile.

“Well, let’s just say that I made you all maps.” He said, picking them up from where they’d been sat inconspicuously on the seat next to him. He handed them out and they stared down at the paper, wondering if he was messing with them. 

“You’re joking.” Carlee said, looking up. He shook his head, and she scoffed. “Please, I know you’re a celebrity, but that doesn’t mean that you live in a house  _ this  _ complicated.” He shrugged, he wasn’t really sure what to say.

“I mean, there’s no point in lying to you, and we’ll be there in a few minutes anyways.” There was silence, and soon enough they arrived. 

“Woah!” Sophia said, smiling brightly as she looked out the window. 

“You weren’t kidding.” Michael said, looking almost impressed. Virgil nodded, a smile on his face.

“Yeah. I’ve been learning to appreciate it, and I figured what better way to do that than to share it with you guys? I certainly couldn’t use all the space on my own.” He said, and Laura grinned.

“Your best decision yet.” She said, and he chuckled.

“I gotta agree with that.” He said, and she jumped up from her seat, grabbing her bag.

It took a while to get everyone out, then getting them situated inside. He was happy to offer them a tour, and he explained the few house rules he had: Be kind to the staff, ask for help when needed, and try not to get hurt. He could care less if they broke every item in the house - so long as they didn’t hurt themselves in the process - but he wanted them to know that they could ask for help, and to be respectful to those who worked valiantly to take care of the place, even though he had rarely used the house.

“That’s it?” Carlee asked, skeptical. He nodded. “So if I were to smash this vase, with no remorse, I wouldn’t get in trouble?” She asked, and he shook his head.

“I only ask that you try not to hurt yourself or others if you do so, but other than that feel free.” He said, and she gave him a suspicious glare, walking over to the table. Everyone watched with bated breaths, and Remus just raised an eyebrow. Was he really gonna just let this happen? What a weak excuse for authority, though he supposed it was nice that he wouldn’t shout at them.

_ You don’t know that yet.  _ He reminded himself, and he bit his tongue, growing frustrated. Of course, there was always the possibility that he was lying, and would shout anyways. Or that he would single her out later and yell at her once he wasn’t in front of them all.

The sound of shattering glass rang in their ears, and Virgil winced. The sound still brought up bad memories, but he could hide it for their sake. He had to. He gave her a gentle smile, and she stared at him, confused and angry. 

“So?! Aren’t you going to say something?!” She finally yelled, and Mariah flinched back. She couldn’t do it. She knew she had adapted to Carlee today, but the glass breaking made her want to cry, and the shouting was worse. She couldn’t be like her today, she couldn’t handle it. But she couldn’t shift in front of Virgil either, he wasn’t safe, she didn’t know him, he’d hurt her!

“I don’t know what you want me to say. Just try to avoid the broken glass, I know you’ve probably heard it’s dangerous a thousand times but some of my worst injuries have actually come from shards of glass that I ignored.” He admitted, though he carefully left out the detail that it was because the glass had been weaponized by someone else who attacked him with it. He was about to say something else when Mariah began to sniffle.

“No no no no no” She muttered to herself, clutching her head. Virgil’s expression instantly dropped, a worried look on his face. Tears began to stream down her face and he quickly knelt, reaching out a hand but hesitating, not wanting to upset her more.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked, his tone gentle. Everyone watched in confusion, surprised at the sudden shift in mood. He didn’t care about their eyes boring into him, all he cared about was making sure that Mariah was alright.

“I can’t I can’t I can’t no no no no no” She repeated, digging her fingers into her scalp.

“It’s alright, it’s okay, what’s going on?” He asked softly, and the tears fell faster. 

“Not safe not safe not _safe_ _not safe-”_ She gasped for breath and he frowned.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Still the tears fell faster, and he let out a quiet sigh. “Do you want me to leave? Would that help you feel safe?” He asked carefully, and she nodded frantically. “Okay, I’ll leave. Just tell any of the staff if you need me, okay? I’m happy to help in whatever way I can.” He said, and with one last worried look he left the room, leaving them in silence, broken only by her quiet sobs.

Virgil made sure to inform one of the staff members about the broken glass, and they instantly went in to clean it up, as well as make sure none of them were hurt. When they were finally alone they all shared nervous glances.

“Really? Just like that?” Remus asked, skeptical. “I can’t believe he’d leave a bunch of strange kids alone in his house, especially after breaking something precious.” He said, and Carlee shrugged.

“I don’t think he really cares about any of his possessions. All of his personal items are probably in a  _ different  _ mansion or something.” She said, not entirely convinced that she was off the hook.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Michael asked, kneeling in front of Mariah. She sniffled, trying to wipe away her tears. 

“I can’t, no, I can’t” He brushed her hair out her face, a gentle look in his eyes.

“Shh, it’s alright.” He said quietly, and he waited for her to calm down. When she finished crying enough to breathe he spoke up again. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?” He asked softly, and she nodded.

“I can’t switch in front of him. It’s not safe.” She said, and Michael nodded sympathetically. He was the only one who knew about her switching, and he understood her difficulty trusting people with it. “But she was so loud, and I couldn’t keep being like her, and the glass made me wanna cry.” She whispered, and he nodded again.

“It’s okay, you’re safe.” She sniffled, trying to believe him. “Can I hug you?” He asked, and she nodded, throwing herself into his arms. He was quick to return the embrace, happy that she at least had someone she could trust.

“Ugh, I can’t believe he just  _ left  _ like that. He practically ran!” Carlee said, crossing her arms. Remus scowled. While he didn’t particularly agree with her on that, he would take any reason he could to distrust him. After all, why would someone so successful want to deal with a bunch of no good kids that nobody wanted?

“Oh, come on.” Jake said, and her eyes snapped over to him. “He left because he thought it was best! He was trying to help.” He said, and Laura nodded.

“He only left because Mariah felt unsafe with him, and he  _ respected that.”  _ She said, sticking up for him. She might not know Virgil very well, but from what she’d seen he seemed like a good man. 

“Oh please.” Carlee rolled her eyes, and Janus spoke up.

“I think he’s okay.” He said quietly, and Carlee’s glare hardened.

“Not you too, Dee.” Remus had to agree.

“Come on, I thought you were on my side? You can’t possibly trust him after only a few days!” He exclaimed, and Janus shrunk back.

“I’m not saying that. But from what little I’ve seen, he seems okay. Not good, not bad. But not horrible.” He said carefully, and Remus sighed.

“Who am I kidding. He seems fine, but there’s no way in hell I’m trusting him. For all we know he’s listening in on us right now.” He said, and they all reflexively glanced around.

Virgil was already halfway across the house, ordering pride flags online. He couldn’t believe it was the one thing he’d forgotten, but he wanted to make sure they all felt safe, no matter who they were or who they loved. 

He also made sure to text Roman to  _ Stay. Away.  _ until he gave him the okay, because Remus’ wellbeing was more important than whatever stupid bonding activities Roman had planned with the kids. 

When he didn’t suddenly appear, and there was no sound of footsteps hurrying towards or away from them, they relaxed. Remus sighed, glancing between them all.

“I still don’t trust him.” He said, and Laura sighed.

“I mean, that’s fine, but don’t accuse him of things he hasn’t done.” She said, and he scoffed. 

“He’s totally gonna yell at me later.” Carlee said, but instead of anger, she held guilt in her eyes. She quickly covered it up, acting pissed again, but they had all seen it. She  _ was  _ mad, but guilt was quickly beginning to eat away at her. She’d had a perfect opportunity for a new life, a new  _ home,  _ and she’d had to go and throw it away for the sake of ‘testing’ it. Had to fuck it up because she couldn’t trust him. Had to ruin it because she wanted to be defiant. 

“Pshh, nah, he wouldn’t want to risk his reputation.” Janus said, trying to hide his anxiety with haughty comments. She rolled her eyes.

“In private, dumbass. It’s a big enough house that he’ll find somewhere everyone else can’t hear him yelling.” Remus thought for a moment.

“Let’s test him.” He said, and Carlee raised an eyebrow. “Doing the biggest, baddest thing, to see if he can resist losing his temper. I mean, if we’ve ruined our chances anyways, might as well go out with a bang, right?” He said, and Carlee grinned.

“I like the way you think.” She said, and Janus facepalmed. He cared about Remus, he really did, but he had 0 braincells sometimes.

“No, you’re gonna hurt someone.” Jake said, and Remus rolled his eyes. 

“Then  _ you  _ don’t have to be involved.” He said, and Jake frowned, sighing but saying nothing. “Okay, who’s with me?” 

Janus and Carlee were the first to agree, and after a moment Sophia decided to join in. She didn’t fully understand what they were doing, all she knew was it was something to do and it would be fun. They were surprised to see her join in, and Michael tried to talk her out of it, but Remus was having none of it. 

So, with a devilish grin, they set off to create chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	17. Testing testing, are you there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, uh, have some chaos

Fire alarms started blaring and Virgil jumped up from his seat. He had been relaxing for a moment, grateful for the peace after he’d explained to Roman why he wasn’t allowed to come over and finished ordering the pride flags, but instead he was met with panic and adrenaline.

He didn’t have time to think, the kids were in danger and he didn’t know where they were. Without a second thought he changed into shadow form and began racing around the house, using his enhanced hearing to try to figure out where they were. He reached them within moments and backed away, appearing around the corner to switch back out of shadow form.

He sprinted around the corner, only to panic more when he realized that only four of them were there. Mariah, Michael, Laura and Jake stared at him with panicked expressions, and he listened closely. Based on what he could hear, the other four weren’t too far away - but they were right next to the fire. He cursed himself for leaving them alone, if they got hurt he’d never forgive himself. A staff member ran into the room worriedly and, though he hated to do it, he instructed them to lead the kids to the nearest exit and look after them while he went and found the others. They were happy to oblige, and he took off again.

Within seconds he had reached the other four, and what he found was… a sight. Remus was sprawled on top of a chandelier, that had crashed to the floor - he knew for a fact that they were stable enough to hold 2 grown men dangling from them at the least, so how he managed to get it down was a mystery. Janus - he’d learned his name from the woman at the reception, though she had told him that he never went by it - was standing on top of the counter, right next to the electric stove that they’d somehow managed to set on fire - along with the rest of the kitchen - looking terrified.

Carlee was holding a crowbar - how she’d managed to get one he had no idea, he didn’t even think he had one in the house - and Sophia was crying in the corner, an empty box of matches at her feet. He didn’t have time to actually take it all in however, as he instantly grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher - thanking whatever deity existed that he had insisted there was in every room - and put out the fire before any of them could react.

When the smoke alarms finally stopped going off - the only reason that there was no sprinkler system in the kitchen was because if there was an oil fire he didn’t want to cause an explosion - they all stared at him in shock, and he carefully placed it on the ground, shaking from adrenaline.

“Are any of you hurt?” He asked, and they looked at him like he was insane.

“No.” Carlee said quietly, and Janus hopped down from the counter with shaky legs. Remus scrambled to his feet, a terrified look on his face. Virgil turned to the other three, and they all shook their heads.

“Just scared.” Sophia said, wiping away her tears. He walked over and knelt in front of her, and she quickly threw herself at him. He returned the embrace, and, with her permission, picked her up. He couldn’t imagine how scared she must’ve been. “I’m sorry.” She muttered, her face buried in his shirt, but he just shushed her.

“It’s okay, as long as you aren’t hurt.” He said, and he turned to face the other three. Guilt was clear in all of their eyes, and Carlee stared at the ground.

“I guess you want to send us back now, after that stunt.” She said, but he shook his head.

“No, but before I address that - where in the world did you get a crowbar?” He asked, an almost amused expression on his face. Her eyes snapped up to meet his, confusion and worry on her face.

“There was a closet full of cleaning supplies and weapons that I took it from.” She said carefully, and his eyes widened. He had sworn he’d gotten rid of all his ‘supply’ closets, he must’ve missed one. In his silence she gained the confidence to speak up. “Why do you even have all of those weapons?” She asked, and he blinked.

“Personal defense.” He answered easily, it was a lie he’d had prepared for years. “I mean, I trust my security is good enough, but there’s always going to be someone trying to break in to steal things. I wanted to have some tools just in case. Though, I thought I moved all of those to a different location, I didn’t want anyone getting hurt messing around with them. I must’ve forgot.” He said, and she nodded, not quite believing him but knowing she was in no place to accuse him.

“Why aren’t you yelling?” Remus blurted out before he could stop himself. Virgil frowned.

“Well, for one, I’m kind of stunned on how you even managed to do this, especially in such a short amount of time. Though, to be fair” He chuckled “I’ve done my fair share of crazy things and with much less time on my hands.” They were shocked, to say the least. Not only was he not mad, not only was he laughing along with them at the situation, but he’d done  _ crazier?  _ And he’d done it  _ faster?  _ They weren’t sure if they should be worried or amused.

“But also,” He continued, silencing their thoughts “There’s not really much to be mad about. I’m more worried about your safety than anything, really. I mean, I wouldn’t recommend doing this again, and I’d appreciate it if you guys did things that were less likely to endanger the whole house, but I’m not going to hold it against you.” He said, and this time Carlee was the one who spoke before thinking. 

“But we did it on purpose!” She blurted, and he just blinked at her. She glanced at the other two with guilt, but she couldn’t back out of it now. “This wasn’t just some stupid accident. We were trying to do something big and crazy. We were trying to break the rules.” She explained, staring at the floor. “So,” Her voice went quiet “Why don’t you hate us?” She asked, and Virgil sighed.

“Because I get it.” He said, and this caught their attention. He was frowning, but there was an understanding look in his eyes. “I really do. I told you, I was in the system until I was 18. A  _ lot  _ of who I am comes from the time I spent getting shuffled through homes, from not trusting anyone I met. The few homes I didn’t get kicked out of I ran from before I could get hurt. I  _ know  _ how hard it is to trust adults, especially after that. I didn’t trust anyone until I was well into my 20s. I don’t expect you all to just give up on your distrust just because I understand, but I want you guys to feel safe, and I’ll do whatever I can to help make this a safe space for you.” He explained, and they stared at him. He sighed.

“I suppose we should check on the others and make sure they’re okay. And I still need to give you all a tour, you can choose your own rooms afterwards if you’d like.” He said, motioning for them to follow him. They did so wordlessly and he led them to the living room they’d originally been in. He went to put Sophia down on the couch but she clung to him, so he continued to carry her around. It wasn’t until after he’d brought the other four back in that she felt comfortable to sit on her own.

He looked at them and felt almost ashamed. They’d been here for so little time and he already felt like he’d failed them. He’d put them in danger, abandoned them, and make them feel unsafe. But he would do his best to make it up to them, however he could. Even if that ended up meaning letting them find a different home that was better suited for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're not leaving just yet, but Virgil is 100% willing to let them go if that's what's best for them. We're starting a whole new era in Virgil's life, in a sense.


	18. Reflections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little shorter than usual, but it contains a very key sentiment about one of the characters, so you might wanna pay attention, it's important later ;p

After everyone calmed down he offered to show them around. No one questioned what happened when he’d discovered who’d made the fire, but the kids all shared worried glances. It took a little over half an hour, though that was mostly because they kept stopping to ask about the different rooms.

Virgil was happy to explain whatever he could, and the kids watched him go off on tangents with a smile on his face. They knew that it was a lot to hope for, but strangely they… trusted him? Or least, they didn’t distinctly  _ distrust  _ him, which was a start. 

Michael was mostly just glad that he hadn’t yelled at any of them yet, and he seemed to be accommodating towards their needs, so he held high hopes, though he tried not to hold his breath about anything. Laura and Jake were just happy he had so many different rooms and art supplies, there was something for everyone, and they knew they would at least enjoy the time spent creating.

Mariah was worried, she still had no clue how he’d react to her shifting - he didn’t even know about her camouflage, as she called it, and she was scared of his response - let alone how she was when she wasn’t acting like anyone. But he seemed nice, and he had left when he thought it would help her. 

Sophia was ecstatic to be living with him. He was sweet, he was kind, and he was her hero! He’d saved her like a knight in shining armor when the fire had happened, even though she’d helped start it. And he’d even carried her away! He was so happy too, even when he was worried about them. She had a good feeling about the time she’d spend in his home

Carlee, meanwhile, had mixed feelings. For one, she still didn’t trust him. She barely knew him, and he was just another adult in her life that could let her down or hurt her the second she let her guard down. Not to mention the amount of money he had made it hard for her to believe he’d understand their struggles. But also, he had a sort of peaceful aura around him? It was confusing. 

Janus didn’t know what to feel. On one hand, he appeared to be trying his best, though he of all people knew that appearances could be very deceiving. He’d been considered a monster most of his life for his scale-like scar, so he was hesitant to believe what he saw. And on the other hand, Remus heavily distrusted him, and he was more willing to trust Remus’ intuition - no matter how crazy he acted - than he was to just put his faith in some adult they barely knew. 

And Remus? Well, Remus had no clue what he was doing. He felt like he could trust Virgil, but everything in him was screaming at him to run away. Whether that meant to actually pack his bags and scatter or to get as far away from Virgil emotionally as possible, he didn’t know. He was so kind, so caring, so  _ understanding.  _ He knew what it was like, he  _ knew.  _ But how could he trust him?

And not to mention, he hung around with  _ Roman.  _ The person who’d abandoned him, just like the rest of his family. Who hadn’t bothered showing up in his life until  _ after  _ he’d become some hotshot writer and made a life for himself. Didn’t even  _ care  _ about his wellbeing until Virgil just so happened to stumble upon him.

Who he had a feeling was hiding a lot more than he let on.

Yet, he had respected Remus when he’d asked - well, more like demanded - that Roman stay away. Had willingly left the room when he thought it would help Mariah feel safe - and that struck him in a way it hadn’t before. He hadn’t left because it would definitively help her safety, or make her stop crying, or make her trust him in any way. She  _ felt  _ unsafe, for reasons she didn’t state, and not only did he not pry, not dig into why she felt unsafe around him, he  _ listened. _

He listened to her, asked her what was wrong, and the second he realized she’d  _ feel  _ better if he left, he did so. Not a second thought, not a moment’s hesitation, just like that he was gone. And sure, he made sure they weren’t alone, made sure they were taken care of. But he left, respected a 6-year-old’s wishes when they didn’t want him near them.

He cursed internally, trying to block the thoughts out. No. It didn’t matter. That was called being a somewhat decent human being, the bare minimum when it came to moral judgment; it didn’t matter that the majority of adults wouldn’t pass that test. He wasn’t about to go entrusting his emotions, his feelings, his safety to someone he didn’t know just because of that.

He came first. Janus was always telling him that they should practice a bit more selfishness. They came first, before anyone else, before what anyone else thought or felt. They came first. And he wasn’t about to start caring about some random asshole just because they wanted to get positive clout for doing a good deed of ‘saving those poor, desperate children’.

He would  _ not  _ be a pawn in someone else’s game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> I just love flip-flopping between pure fluff and heartbreaking angst, don't I?


	19. Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I don't want to update too often in case I run out of material  
> Also me: Is only just getting to uploading chapter 19, while in the middle of writing chapter 28

It had been a month now, since they’d started living in their new home. Everyone was having different experiences when it came to adjusting to their new life, especially considering just how different it was. Even Virgil was still adapting, but he found he was strangely... proud of himself? He’d grown a lot since he’d first adopted Adara, and he was happy about the changes he’d made. He’d come far, and while he was  _ far  _ from perfect, he was glad that he had grown.

Sophia had probably had the easiest time adjusting. She was young, hadn’t even been through a home yet, and didn’t entirely understand why everyone seemed to distrust Virgil. Sure, she’d been a little shy when they’d first met, but he was so caring and he gave her more than she could imagine wanting, so what reason did she have to  _ not  _ like him?

Laura and Jake were the next to come around to fully trusting him. They hadn’t had too bad of an experience, but it seemed they were never the right fit for the home. There were always too many kids or the parents were reaching their limit or it turned out something else was going on and they got taken away. They doubted Virgil would be able to put up with them forever, but they were happy to live there while they could, and they were determined to treasure the experience while they could.

Michael didn’t particularly care one way or another, he didn’t  _ really  _ distrust Virgil, but he’d been in a pretty bad home before this one, and he wasn’t eager to relive the experience. He hadn’t entirely known his parents, they’d been unable to care for him and he was taken away before he could really get to know or remember them. He was shy, and nervous, but if anything happened to Mariah he knew his trust would instantly go down the drain. He might not know her that well, but he knew she was worth protecting.

Mariah herself had made... progress. She had switched while Virgil was in the room once, and while he didn’t seem to actually notice, she considered that an improvement. She still hadn’t been exactly herself around him, but she figured it was best to take small steps.

The other three… well, they were trying. They  _ wanted  _ to trust Virgil, they really did. Despite their defensive attitudes, they wanted so desperately to finally be  _ safe,  _ to be able to trust him and not worry that he’d hurt them.

But they’d been hurt too many times. Trust didn’t come easily, and they were especially wary when it came to him. They were hopeful, considering a month had gone by with barely a hiccup, the first day being the exception, and even then nothing horrible had happened. But they really couldn’t be sure they were safe without doing something to test it, and as much as they were hopeful, they  _ really  _ didn’t want to lose this chance.

It wasn’t until Patton showed up that something notable happened.

Virgil had explained to them that, while he’d love to spend all of his time with them, he had responsibilities he had to get to, and a lot to manage. He had his agents, but some things were best not entrusted to strangers. Because of that, Patton and Logan would be over occasionally so if something happened while he was gone they weren’t left with no one they knew. 

“Hi kiddos!” He said, and the 8 of them just sat there, blank expressions on their faces. Virgil sighed internally, he wasn’t expecting much when he first introduced them, but he was afraid he’d done this too soon. Sophia broke the silence.

“Hi! I’m Sophia!” She said happily, jumping off the couch. Patton smiled, waving. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Patton.” Mariah said quietly. She had taken to acting like Michael quite a lot recently, he was the one who acted most like her, and he was around her a lot anyways. It did mean she was shy a lot, but she didn’t know if that was much different from how she’d be if she acted like herself. Patton gave her a gentle smile. 

“It’s nice to meet you too.” He said, and Michael gave a small wave.

“Hi.” Patton nodded, and the twins jumped up from their seats. 

“I heard you like baking!” Laura said excitedly, and Patton nodded eagerly.

“I do! Do you want to bake with me sometime? I’m sure it would be fun.” He offered, and she looked at him with stars in her eyes. 

“Do you like art?” Jake asked, and Patton smiled, his eyes wide with interest.

“Mm-hmm! It’s really fun. I’d love to make something with you if you’re up to it.” He said, and Jake practically started bouncing up and down.

“Hmph. You just so happen to like everything they like.” Carlee said, her arms crossed in front of her. It was now that they were realizing the stark differences between the two. They had thought that Virgil was happy and eager to be with them, but Patton basically radiated energy. Patton’s smile dimmed slightly, but he did his best to remain cheerful. Virgil had warned him that they weren’t all super eager to be with him, and to give them time.

“Actually I’m just glad that I share an interest with them, though I’d be happy to learn about your interests as well.” He said, and Virgil sighed in relief. Patton was learning much quicker than the other two on how to properly handle kids that weren’t comfortable with adults. Carlee continued to glare at him, but internally she was debating whether or not he was worth caring about. On the one hand, he seemed kind, but on the other hand, she didn’t know how he’d act when Virgil wasn’t there.

“Really? You wouldn’t run screaming if you heard about my interests?” She said, raising an eyebrow. Might as well put him to the test. Remus grinned, leaning forwards.

“I doubt that, Patty-cakes.” He said, and he shared a smirk with Carlee. Janus just sighed, sitting back to watch it go down. No doubt Patton would freak out and ‘remember something he had to do’ or something like that. 

“Well, what are they?” Patton asked, glancing worriedly at Mariah and Sophia. While he could handle whatever they threw his way, he didn’t want the little kids to be uncomfortable. Virgil was watching with bated breath. Carlee smirked, mistaking his worried glance for fear.  _ Of course,  _ she thought.

“Well, to start off, it gets  _ really  _ gorey. Do you like horror movies? One’s where the victim’s guts get torn out?” She asked, and Patton’s eyes flickered over to the kids. Surprisingly, they didn’t look phased, though he supposed they’d known each other for a while before Virgil had taken them in, so they’d probably gotten used to it. He let out a silent sigh of relief.

“I mean, they’re fun to watch, though they can be a little sad when there’s no survivors.” He admitted, and Virgil’s eyes flickered back and forth.

“What about when there’s tons of blood? Organs spilling out is fun to see done so realistically.” Remus said, an almost too-wide smile on his face. Patton’s face lit up, and they looked on in surprise.

“Ooh, do you wanna be a makeup artist? Or maybe work with special effects? It’s really cool seeing how they make the fake blood and injuries.” He said, genuinely interested. While he personally found it a little too disturbing, he had to admit it took a lot of skill, and he could appreciate that. Remus blinked in surprise, sharing a confused glance with Carlee.

“You don’t seem like a typical horror fan.” She pointed out, and Patton sighed, nodding.

“Yeah, I find it a bit too scary for my tastes. I know I’m an adult and all but I find that I prefer less mature things. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the hard work and effort put into it, and I think it’s really cool, even if I can’t stomach most of it.” He said, and they stared. 

“I can’t honestly say whether or not it’s nice to meet you, but hi. Welcome to the chaos.” Janus said tiredly. 

“That’s fair.” Patton said, and Remus sat back.

“Welp. We gonna just sit here or are we gonna do something?” He asked, and Patton glanced at Virgil. He signalled for them to do whatever they wanted, and Patton lit up, smiling brightly.

“You wanted to bake, right?” He asked Laura, and she nodded excitedly. “Well come on, I’m sure there are enough ingredients to make cookies.” He said, waving for her to follow him, and she followed happily. Jake chased after her, Sophia quick on his tail. 


	20. Panic and Reassurance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick thank you to all of you who have lefts comments, even if it's just a keysmash. You have given me all of the serotonin and motivation

Virgil was the next to speak, once they left.

“I’ve got quite a few horror movies if you guys want to watch them.” He offered, and Remus gave him a critical look. 

“I think I’m gonna head to my room. See you guys later.” Michael said, and Mariah followed after him.

“Same here.” She said quietly, and within seconds they had disappeared.

“Can you handle the gore? Or are you just offering to  _ seem  _ like you’re interested?” Carlee asked suspiciously, and he laughed.

“Not to freak you out, but I’ve seen worse gore in real life than in 99% of the horror movies I’ve seen.” He said, and they shared worried yet intrigued looks. 

“I’m sorry, but would you mind stepping out of the room for a moment?” She asked, almost defensively, and he nodded. 

“Of course, just shout if you need me, I’ll be a few rooms down.” He said, and he made his way down the hall. It was just a random office he had, but it contained heavy-duty soundproof headphones that he could listen to music through. 

Granted, since he was so close, he’d definitely hear any noise louder than someone stomping, and even that he might hear, but he wouldn’t accidentally eavesdrop on their conversation, while also being close enough that he would most certainly hear if they were to shout for him.

It was actually a serious problem he’d had when he’d first adopted Adara. He wanted to respect her privacy, but his enhanced hearing had made it very hard at first, considering it was difficult for him to tune it out when it was the only words he was hearing a majority of the time. He couldn’t exactly turn his enhanced hearing off either, like with most superpowers, so he had had to figure something out pretty quick.

“Excuse me, but what the fuck?” Carlee asked once he was (seemingly) out of earshot. Remus grinned.

“I think I like him, he’s just the right amount of fucked up.” He said, and Janus rolled his eyes.

“Aren’t you at all concerned that that’s because of, I don’t know, atrocities he’s committed, possibly towards kids? He  _ seems  _ to do well with kids, yet the media has never reported on him having any, as far as I remember.” He said, and Remus glanced at him.

“I mean, yeah, but I think that’s just fun.” He said, and Carlee frowned.

“Wait.” They both turned to her. “I think I remember meeting an Adara Storm when I was in elementary school. She’s four years older than me, so I didn’t see her often. But I remember everyone freaked out when her dad picked her up from school, for some reason.” She said, and Janus’ eyes widened.

“Now that you mention it, I think I remember there being a mention of him having a child a few years ago. It mentioned something about him wanting to respect their privacy and keep their identity secret from the public.” He said, and Remus’ smile dropped.

“Oh.” Janus turned to him, worried. “That means that if he hurt her, it would be easier for it to go unnoticed by the media. And he hasn’t mentioned anything about us on any social media or anything yet either.” His hands went to his hair as panic started to settle in. “What if he’s just lulling us into a false sense of security so he can attack us?” He said, and Janus’ worry grew. Carlee scoffed.

“Well I can tell you one thing, we’re not going down without a fight.” She said, and Janus sighed.

“We won’t have to do anything like that. I’m sure he’s not going to hurt us, otherwise he wouldn’t have told Patton about us. If Patton is going to be hanging around more now, he would see anything Virgil did.” He said, trying to convince himself as well.

“But what if Patton’s in on it? We know all three of them are friends with my brother, and that can’t end well.” He said, nearly tearing his own hair out. Janus frowned, trying to come up with a response. Carlee glanced at the two of them with a frustrated frown on her face, and finally she shouted.

“HEY! VIRGIL!” She yelled, and Remus flinched back. She gave him an apologetic glance but turned back to the hallway when footsteps started approaching fast.

“Yeah?” He asked, trying not to show his panic on his face. He noticed Remus’ condition and his expression dropped, worry clear on his face. Carlee went to ask him what she’d meant to ask, but he hurried forwards, stopping a few feet away from Remus.

“Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?” He asked quickly, and Remus backed away frantically, pressing himself against the back of the couch. Instantly Virgil took a large step back, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Just focus on my voice, okay?” He said calmly, and Remus shut his eyes. It was too much, he couldn’t handle it, but Virgil only gave him a sympathetic look and kept talking. “You don’t have to say it out loud, but can you list five things you can see?” He asked, and Remus pried his eyes open just enough to see, glancing around furtively.

“The couch, the tv,” He mumbled, and his eyes continued to dart around. “The painting, chandelier, a-and,” he tried to breathe “The ottoman.” He said, and Virgil nodded, a gentle expression on his face.

“Good, you’re doing great. Now, four things you can feel?” He asked, and Remus closed his eyes again.

“Couch. Clothes.” He took a wavering breath “Hair. ...Dee.” He said, taking a moment to remember that Janus didn’t want his name out yet.

“Okay, now three things you can hear?” He asked gently, and Remus took a deep breath.

“My breathing… the ceiling fan… and… footsteps?” His head shot up, but it was just Mariah. She nervously walked up to the couch, grabbed her jacket, and sprinted off again. Virgil gave a fond smile before turning back to Remus.

“Just a little more, you’re doing good. Two things you can smell?” He asked, and Remus scrunched up his nose, trying to come up with two things.

“Cookies, and… air?” He said tentatively, and Virgil nodded, giving a small smile.

“And now one thing you can taste.” He said, and Remus swallowed nervously.

“Spit?” He asked, and Virgil sighed in relief.

“You did great. Are you feeling okay now?” He asked, and Remus shrugged, still feeling a little shaky. “Do you know what caused it? It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.” He said, and Carlee spoke up.

“You’re not going to hurt us, right?” She asked suspiciously, and Remus winced. Virgil glanced at her, confused.

“No, I mean, I’ll try my best not to.” He said, and she sighed in frustration.

“No, like, you’re not going to beat us up or lock us in your basement or anything? Not gonna experiment on us?” She asked, and Virgil looked horrified.

“No, of course not!” His eyes widened. “Ohhh. This is about what I said, isn’t it.” He looked down in shame. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize how that might be taken. I’d never try to hurt you guys, I guess I should’ve clarified instead of just dropping that on you.” He said, genuine guilt in his voice. Remus glanced up.

“Where  _ did  _ you see all that gore then?” He asked, and Virgil rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Let’s just say that I got in a lot of fights… Most of what I did was in self-defense, and I never just attacked anyone for no reason. But I get why you guys would be suspicious of that. I’m really sorry Remus, I didn’t realize… no, I should’ve been more aware. It’s not your fault, I should’ve asked you guys beforehand.” He looked up, a defeated expression on his face. “Before we go forwards, do you guys have any triggers I should be aware of? I don’t want to cause a panic attack or bring up trauma by accident.” He said, and they shared startled looks.

“None that I’m aware of.” Carlee said, and Janus paused.

“I mean, as long as we don’t get in any car accidents I’m good.” He said carefully, and Virgil noted that. Even though he seemed nonchalant, Virgil could tell there was more to it than just getting into them himself. He would make sure to keep that in mind. 

“No, and don’t think too much of that. You can talk about your experience with gore around me, I’m not weak.” Remus spat, and Virgil frowned.

“I never said you were. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt you without knowing.” Remus just looked away, crossing his arms. “Are you still up for the movie? We can watch whatever you guys like.” He said, and Remus sighed.

“How about Happy Death Day?” He asked, and Carlee nodded, smiling.

“That one’s my favorite!” She said excitedly, and Janus shrugged.

“I’m for whatever.” He said, and Virgil smiled, going to retrieve the movie.

It wasn’t perfect, sure, but it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, question: Do y'all want a reference sheet? Like just with their names, age and physical appearance? Because having a lot of characters can get really confusing (I have a more in-depth reference sheet for myself, but it also contains spoilers and key-plot points so I'd make a separate one for you guys)  
> Just let me know, I'd be happy to make one so it's easier to keep track of everything


	21. Slowly But Surely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note, at this point in the story Adara's birthday has passed. They didn't make a big deal out of it, and it wasn't really plot-relevant so I didn't end up mentioning it, but she is now 12, just thought I'd let you know

The movie ended a little later than they’d expected - they’d ended up pausing it quite a few times just to talk - so by the time Virgil started cleaning up the living room; Patton had brought them all popcorn when he realized they were watching a movie, which they were all grateful for, though it caused a mess, the sun was already setting. 

Remus and Carlee went to bed first, and Janus stayed behind, assuring Remus that he wasn’t staying long, he just had something he wanted to discuss with Virgil. Remus gave him one final worried glance before heading down the hallway, disappearing to his room. The other five had already gone to bed, and Patton had left shortly after making them popcorn, though Virgil had offered for him to stay.

“Remus… lied.” Janus said after a moment of silence, glancing around to make sure no one was listening in. Virgil listened in, noting the serious tone he displayed. “He said he doesn’t have any triggers, but just try to avoid any discussions about abandonment around him, okay?” He looked frustrated, like he was angry at himself. Virgil nodded.

“Okay, and thank you for telling me.” He said, and Janus scowled.

“Look,” He said, internally cursing himself. He met Virgil’s eyes. “This… I’m trusting you a  _ lot  _ here to not go out of your way to hurt him or abuse your knowledge. If you betray that…” He trailed off, looking away again, working his jaw. He had a thousand things he wanted to say, but he knew, for his own and Remus’ safety, he couldn’t.

“Dee, I-” He cut him off.

“Janus.” Virgil’s eyes widened. Of course, he knew his name, but he also knew that he didn’t trust anyone with it, except Remus. He hadn’t expected such a direct sign of trust from him. He took a deep breath.

“Janus, I understand how much courage that took to tell me. I wish I knew what I could do to help you guys trust me, but I don’t want to force you to trust me when you’re not ready. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you guys safe and comfortable, okay?” He said, and Janus nodded. He went to walk away, knew he should have left it at that, but something was nagging at him.

“One question, before I head to bed,” He said, glancing over his shoulder. Virgil nodded, an open expression on his face. “Do you have any kids? Besides us, of course?” He asked, and Virgil nodded earnestly.

“Five. One I adopted on purpose, three who came to me when their homes were unsafe, and one who was on the streets with nowhere to go.” He said honestly, and Janus frowned, turning to face him.

“Where are they, then?” He asked, trying not to come off as too suspicious.

“You may have figured out by now, but this isn’t my only house. I figured it would be better if you guys got used to… this… before I introduced you guys, but if you’d like to meet them I’d be happy to introduce you. All of them are around your age.” He said, and Janus nodded, deep in thought. He was about to walk away when Virgil spoke up. “And hey, Janus?” He met his eyes again, anxious but curious “Thank you. I know it’s hard to trust me, but thank you. It means a lot.” He said, a genuine smile coming to his face. Janus just nodded, heading off to bed.

When he had left Virgil let out a tired sigh, the smile not leaving his face. It was hard, even more so than he’d imagined. He never thought about what it would be like to be on the other side, the adult trying to earn the children's trust, but he had to say, he was glad he was putting in the effort. Even if it was small, he was making a positive impact on their lives, and god knew he’d needed that when he was their age. 

He strolled through the halls, smiling. He had put up all the pride merchandise he’d ordered, some flags scattered neatly on the walls, one hanging out front on the flagpole he’d never used - he didn’t like to participate in ‘american pride’, the blind patriotism made him feel queasy - and some random Safe Place and similar messages placed on doors. 

He’d also made sure that all of his ‘supply’ closets had been properly taken care of, as well as all the ones in his other house. Yes, they knew he was Anxiety there, but that still didn’t mean he wanted them stumbling upon them blindly.

Speaking of which, he was sad he’d been away from them for so long. Sure, he’d popped in every now and then, but it wasn’t the same as being there every day. And he was sure it was having its impact on the kids, especially after he’d gone missing.

He sighed. As soon as the kids were more comfortable with Patton and Logan - as well as getting to know the staff somewhat, as they  _ were  _ there to help - he would start spending more of his time back at his home. He was planning on turning this house into a full-time shelter, so not just these kids but any kid in the system could be brought there for a better experience, and a place where they could feel truly safe.

He was already starting other plans to turn the majority of his mansions into shelters of some kind, he wasn’t using them anyways, and he was starting to see the hypocrisy of attacking those corrupt with power and money when he himself was not using his wealth to benefit those in need. Sure, he’d done some charity work and other large donations, but he wasn’t actively helping anyone, and he figured he had  _ more  _ than enough money to help for a lifetime or more.

Still, one night away from the house couldn’t hurt. They were sure to sleep soundly, and the staff were equipped to deal with them - he’d made 100% sure of that before even checking out the shelter the first time. He sighed, slipping silently out the door. He unveiled his wings, reveling in the cool night air.

And if Janus saw his figure disappearing into the clouds through his window, well, he was already good at keeping secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)


	22. Affection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just like the chapter title sounds. Enjoy the fluff
> 
> Also, can I just say, that comments give me /life/. Like it can literally just be a keysmash but it will give me enough motivation to write for hours at a time. So thank you to all who have left them, and don't be afraid to leave a comment!

Adara was the first one to notice him silently touching down in the backyard, and she noticed the sheer relief on his face at finally being home. She raced outside silently, throwing herself at him, trusting him to catch her in an embrace.

Virgil laughed quietly, catching her easily and spinning her around, holding her tight. He couldn’t deny how much he’d missed the feeling, even if it hadn’t been that long. The other kids deserved his attention, of course they did, but there was a certain undeniable warmth that came from being  _ home.  _

He carried her in, his steps light so as to not wake anyone. Though, he didn’t really need to worry, as pretty much as soon as he stepped inside he was surrounded. Lillith was the first one to join the embrace, throwing herself at him with more force than he thought she had in her. Kennedy snuck behind him, gently clinging to his leg, making Virgil let out a soft chuckle. 

Unfortunately for them, Mara and Liam both threw themselves at Virgil at the same time, launching at him with force he had  _ not  _ expected. He stumbled for a moment, struggling to keep his balance, but in the end it was Kennedy behind him that ended up being his downfall, quite literally.

He did his best to roll as he fell, not wanting to squish them, but they let go for just long enough to end up on the top of the pile. Virgil laughed, closing his eyes as he relaxed on the floor. The warmth was quite comfortable, and if he was honest, he didn’t have any intent of getting up.

“I missed you guys too.” He said with a smile, and they only clung to him tighter.

“Stay with us for tonight?” Adara asked, her voice quiet and pleading. She knew he probably wouldn’t be able to stay, leaving them alone when they still didn’t really know him wasn’t like him, but she hoped desperately that he would stay with them, even if only for a little while. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Of course.” He said, and she buried her face in his jacket. His wings hurt slightly from the amount of pressure being put on them, but it was completely worth it. 

They laid there for some amount of time, no one was really keeping track. Eventually though Kennedy got up, grabbing Virgil’s hand. Virgil smiled, quirking an eyebrow, and Kennedy let out a playful whine.

“Come onnnnn! Let’s go watch a movie!” He said, tugging desperately on Virgil’s arm. Virgil glanced at the other four still piled on top of him, and they clung tighter. He gave a mischievous smile, and in the blink of an eye they were all gone.

Or, well, not entirely. Where they had been moments before laid only a shadow, adjusting to its new form. After a moment of hesitation it flitted across the ground, moving faster than it could understand. It creeped up onto a large couch, and suddenly deposited five children, piled precariously on top of Virgil. 

“Whoah!” Mara said, sitting up. Lillith giggled.

“That was so cool!” Liam said excitedly, a bright smile on his face. Kennedy grinned.

“Again! Again!” They said, and Virgil smiled tiredly.

“I thought you wanted to watch a movie?” He asked, but honestly, he would happily bring them around the whole house like that if they asked. Their cheerful expressions gave him enough serotonin to function for months. 

“Oh, right!” Kennedy sprung up from the couch, grabbing a movie case and quickly placing it in the Dvd player, a spring in their step. 

They returned quickly to the cuddle pile, and Virgil realized something as he sat there, five children all on top of him, their weight and warmth a comfortable presence he hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed.

He was  _ hella  _ touch-starved. He sat there with the giddiest smile he’d ever had on his face, trying to hide just how much he needed this. As much as he tried to hide it however, Adara gave him a knowing look, and snuggled closer to him. He snorted, wrapping an arm around her. He’d have to get better at blocking empaths, but that was a skill for another night.

For now, he was happy to just lie there, taking in the warmth of his loved ones, watching a cheesy movie that he’d probably never be able to watch again without thinking of them. His heart felt like it was going to burst, and he couldn’t be happier.

And to think, this all happened because Roman had been an idiot who didn’t control his fire. He’d have to thank him sometime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hhhhhhh I may have called myself out a bit here, anyone wanna just lay on top of me for a while? (don't get creepy about it, completely nonsexual)


	23. Shedding Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I've already reached the point in my story that I was dreaming about writing but thought would take months to lead up to. And it's been like a week. So look forward to that, I guess! Though it happens in like 10 chapters, heh
> 
> (Also, for anyone confused about Mariah check the comments on Chapter 16)

Virgil woke hours before the sun rose, blinking blearily in the darkness. Unfortunately, enhanced sight didn’t come with his powers, though his eyes were a little more adapted to darkness than most. It only took a minute for his eyes to adjust, and he sighed, glancing at the children still on top of him. He was careful, but Lillith was a very light sleeper, and she was at the bottom of the pile, meaning there was no way to not wake her.  
He resignedly shifted forms, slipping out from underneath them and reappearing seconds later. They shifted somewhat at the sudden lack of a pillow underneath them, but after a moment they were fine, even Lillith didn’t stir. As much as he hated to leave them, he wanted to be back by the time the other kids woke, and some of them woke earlier than he could ever imagine regularly getting up.  
Michael woke up at 4:30, insisting it was the best time to wake up if he wanted to be productive. It meant he went to bed early as well, making him the complete opposite of Remus, who was practically nocturnal, going to bed around 3 am and waking up at noon or later, not too dissimilar to Virgil’s sleep schedule as a teen. He gave them one last fond smile, tucking the blanket tighter around them, and he disappeared, silently slipping out through the window.  
Being 2d had its perks.  
He flew the rest of the way over, invisible of course, enjoying the cool night air in his lungs. His hair bristled in the wind and he flew faster, swooping and ducking through the clouds. It was a feeling he’d never get entirely used to, and he wouldn’t want it any other way, the thrill one of the few things he still enjoyed from when he was young.  
By the time he slipped back inside, it was already growing close to 4 am, and he heard creaking. Carefully he drew his wings in, still invisible, and he crept towards the noise.   
It was Mariah, and she looked distressed. Tears pooled in her eyes as she tried desperately to wipe them away, and he cursed himself for leaving the lights out. The majority of the hallways had some gentle lights on at night so they wouldn’t get lost, but she’d stumbled so far away from their bedrooms, as well as the majority of rooms they actually used, that the lights weren’t on.  
He backed up slightly, going just out of sight, and turned visible once more, stepping forwards. He gently walked towards her, letting his footsteps be heard slightly so she wouldn’t get startled, but quietly enough that it didn’t sound like someone was chasing her. She stopped suddenly, looking up at him with fearful eyes.  
“V-Virgil?” She asked timidly, and he let out a soft hum. “I-i’m scared.” She sniffled, and Virgil knelt in front of her.  
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” He said, and she shook her head. He sighed, focusing. There was no way to turn the lights on without leaving her completely alone for a moment, he wished he had those clap-on lights now. He concentrated, doing something he swore he would never do to them.  
He altered her perception of reality, and his own as well, just to make it easier. The lights appeared to flicker on, and she glanced up, relief flooding her expression. A few tears fell but she quickly wiped them away, turning away from him, looking embarrassed.  
“I- I had a nightmare. I went to find someone but there was no one around. I’m sorry.” She said, and it was then she realized as well.  
She hadn’t been around anyone since she woke up. She had been looking for an adult, and by the time she thought to go to one of the other kids, she was already lost. She didn’t know how she’d managed to get into the dark, but she didn’t care. No, what was more important was that she hadn’t been able to adapt to anyone. She was herself, and not only that, she was acting like a little kid - nevermind that she was only 6 - in front of Virgil. She whimpered, preparing herself to get hurt.  
“Do you want to go back to bed, or stay awake?” He asked carefully, and her eyes snapped open, a shocked expression on her face.  
“W-what?” She shook her head after a moment, processing what he’d said. “Can I go to bed?” She asked nervously, and he nodded, standing.  
“Of course.” He said, and he offered his hand. She glanced at him for a moment, and though she wanted the comfort, she refused it. He nodded to himself, walking slowly so she could keep up, leading her back to the bedrooms.  
Only once they were actually in the light did Virgil stop altering her perception, though she didn’t notice, too focused on going forwards to glance back. When they arrived at her bedroom she paused, hesitating in front of the door. She sucked in a breath, drawing up her courage.  
“Could you read me a bedtime story?” She asked fearfully, and Virgil smiled gently at her.   
“Any story you want.” He said, and she let out a deep sigh.   
She was asleep in minutes, tucked tightly under the covers, and feeling safer than she had in years.   
Virgil crept silently out of the room, it was too late - or early? he didn’t know - to be using his powers now, as soon some of the kids would be waking up, and he didn’t want to risk being caught. Of course, he was planning to tell them at some point, but he figured it would go a lot smoother if they trusted him before he told them he had supernatural powers, he didn’t want them to take it the wrong way.  
He was glad, anyways, he supposed. He had some calls to make, and he didn’t particularly care about whether or not he woke this person up way too early. So, with one last glance around, he disappeared into his office, slipping one bluetooth earbud in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's he calling? You'll have to wait to see ;)


	24. Hmmmm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh I'm running out of chapter titles (and I already have at least 14 more chapters written hhhhhh) but uh enjoy

“Roman.” Virgil said sharply, hissing through the answering machine. There were a few moments of silence and suddenly he picked up, groaning groggily.

“Whaddya want? It’s” There was a pause “ _ 4 am?!  _ Why are you even awake?” He asked, and Virgil sighed. He should’ve expected this, waking Roman up so early. He ‘needed his beauty rest’ after all.

“I figured this would be the safest time, considering no one else is awake, and I know you go to bed early so I didn’t want to wake you up  _ immediately  _ after you fell asleep.” He said, and there was a tired sigh from the other end.

“Whatever. What do you want to know?” He asked, trying to blink away the sleepiness. Roman didn’t know why Virgil would call him, out of all people, this early, but he supposed that he cared about Patton too much to do that, and he didn’t want to risk Logan’s lecture. He sighed internally, why did Virgil have to make sense? 

“Are there any leads on the lightning?” He asked seriously, and Roman froze.  _ Oh.  _ That’s why. He  _ was  _ the one in charge of investigating the lightning, since he was the only one without an hourly job, though everyone was helping, of course.

“I think? I’ve noticed certain weather patterns repeating around a town not too far from the city, but I’d need more time to look into it, see if it’s actually supernatural.” Virgil let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

“Alright, I’ll let you get to that.” He said calmly, and Roman just sighed.

“I’m getting to sleep first.” He said, and Virgil laughed lightly, a sound that Roman didn’t know he had needed to hear. 

“Yeah, sleep first. And Roman?” He hummed, still only-half awake, but paying close attention. Virgil let out a quiet breath. “Thank you.” And with that he hung up, putting his phone away. He could hear the house stirring to life, slowly but surely, as more and more of the staff woke up, and sure enough he heard the sound of Michael’s door opening. 

Roman stood, stunned, unsure what to do. Virgil had hung up, so he was spared from having to form a response in his confused and sleep-addled state, but still, he was baffled. What did Virgil have to thank him for? If anything Virgil should  _ hate  _ him. He shook his head, putting his phone back down as he climbed into bed. 

Virgil was tired, he rarely woke up this early either, he must’ve said something regrettable and hung up before he had to deal with it. Something nagged at the back of his mind, but he ignored it. There was no point speculating, he’d hear about it later, for now he needed sleep.

Virgil himself was somewhat confused. While it was true it had kind of just slipped out before he could think, that didn’t make it ingenuine. Roman had been willing to deal with him even at such an ungodly hour, so he supposed he was grateful for that.

Though, he still didn’t forgive Roman for a majority of what he’d done. He’d still barely come to terms with the fight, the only reason he hadn’t tried to work it out was because he didn’t want to drag the kids into something he never wanted them to deal with. 

He made his way to the dining room where breakfast was already ready. Michael sat at the table, Laura there with him. She didn’t wake up quite as early as him, but enough time had passed that she was awake anyways, and the two of them ate in relative silence until Virgil arrived.

He was grateful for the food, he hadn’t eaten anything solid since lunch yesterday, though the popcorn and cookies had been nice, they weren’t exactly filling, especially when it came to someone with superpowers - the more you had, and the stronger they were, the more food you needed to maintain the amount of energy having them required. It was quite a hassle honestly, it was why he’d always made sure to eat dinner with Adara before all of this had happened.

Not that he’d have it any other way.

It didn’t take long for everyone to make their way in, even Remus was awake at a somewhat normal time, though a few hours later than everyone else. None of them had anything in particular they wanted to do, so even once they finished eating they ended up sitting around and chatting until all of them were there.

“Hey, Virgil?” Janus asked, and Virgil glanced up, meeting his eyes.

“Hmm?” He hummed, swallowing quickly. No use talking with food in his mouth, even if he didn’t particularly mind when others did so.

“Can we meet them today?” He asked quietly, and everyone turned to him, expectant looks in their eyes. It seemed at some point Janus had filled them all in, because none of them seemed even partially confused, which was a pleasant surprise. He smiled.

“Of course, if you guys are up to it.” He said, and Sophia cheered.

“Whoo! We get to meet our siblings!” She said, and the energy dampened noticeably. She kept eating, not noticing the sudden shift in tone, and Virgil glanced around worriedly. 

“Virgil…” Mariah said quietly, and Virgil looked over to her. She seemed to be doing much better than she was when he’d found her a few hours ago, so that was good. And she seemed a lot more open as well, which Virgil was glad about. “Are we… family?” She asked carefully, and the room fell silent.

“That depends,” He said thoughtfully, and the tension grew “Do you want to be?” He asked earnestly, and she stared for a moment. Finally she gave a slow, timid nod, and he smiled brightly at her. “Then you’re family. That’s all there is to it.” He said, and she gave a shy smile. Virgil could feel the relief settle around the table, and he glanced around.

“Can I call you dad?” Sophia asked, and Virgil nodded.

“Call me whatever you like.” He said, and Carlee couldn’t help herself.

“Can I call you fucker then?” She said, before pausing, instantly regretting her words at the look he gave her.

“I mean, I’d prefer you didn’t when around them, but I can’t really stop you.” He said, gesturing vaguely to Mariah and Sophia. He was fine with cursing, but then again he didn’t want 5-6 year-olds going around saying them either. Remus gave him a strange look.

“You… can’t stop us? You do realize you’re literally in control, right? Like, you’re the authority figure?” He asked, and Virgil nodded.

“I mean, yeah, but just because I say not to do something doesn’t mean you won’t do it. It just means you won’t do it when I’m around.” He said, and Remus sat back, a slightly nervous expression on his face. Well shit, how much did Virgil know about their shenanigans? Because if he knew about even half of them he was  _ so  _ dead. Virgil pretended to be blissfully unaware of his panic, sparing him from the misery of having to confront it.

They finished the rest of the food in comfortable conversation. When they all split up Virgil couldn’t help but smile to himself. Slowly but surely, his family was learning to trust. It was more than he could’ve ever hoped for.


	25. Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of on chapter 41 right now soooooooo

Virgil had their travel all arranged mere moments after he’d called Adara asking if they were willing to meet everyone. It was Sunday, so they had nowhere to be, and Adara was happy to inform him that all of them were eager to meet everyone as soon as possible, and had just been waiting for them to be ready to. It was nothing too fancy, no limo or anything this time - really, that had just been to make their first experience memorable, more than anything - but they agreed that just after noon they’d be over.

Virgil was nearly bouncing with anticipation all day, and he had to force himself to calm down so as not to freak the kids out. Michael hung around him all day, reading the entire time, but keeping an eye on him. As resigned as he was, he wanted to make sure Virgil wasn’t actually planning anything strange when they came over, but his joy seemed genuine, and soon enough it was time for them to arrive.

Patton was the one driving them, he had agreed to bring them over so they wouldn’t be in a car with a stranger at the wheel and it would be someone the other kids already knew as well. He had already told them all that they didn’t know about his powers, let alone the fact he was Anxiety, so they knew not to mention it, and that he hadn’t told them pretty much anything about them yet, which they were fine with. It meant they got to introduce themselves.

Everyone was meeting in the living room where they’d first sat when Virgil had brought them in first, where Carlee had broken the vase. They knew when they arrived because there was the sudden clattering of many loud footsteps racing towards them, and Adara threw herself straight at Virgil. He caught her easily, laughing lightly.

“Should’ve expected as much.” He said, and the kids stared in awe. Carlee Janus and Remus were the ones to notice it, really. There was such a genuine joy and trust in their eyes that they almost felt sad, like they could’ve had that but had thrown it away in their mistrust. Mara was next, much less energetic as she stepped into the room, though still embracing Virgil tightly.

“It’s nice to meet you all!” Adara said brightly, waving. They stared, unsure of how to react. Well, almost all of them.

“Hi!” Sophia bounced out of her seat. “I’m Sophia!” She said happily, and Adara’s grin widened.

“Hi Sophia! I’m Adara.” She said, and Sophia beamed.

“I’m Mara.” She said, waving casually, and they all gave nervous waves back. “I was the first one to show up at his house randomly, it’s nice to meet you.” She said calmly, and Mariah gave a confused look.

“What do you mean?” She asked worriedly, and Lillith waved shyly.

“We were both kicked out by our parents because we’re queer.” Mara explained for her, and Liam stepped forwards.

“And I ran away because my parents wouldn’t accept me.” He said, and they stared with wide eyes. 

Virgil, the man they had distrusted so much, who they had doubted, had thought would hurt them given the chance, had been kind enough that these kids, not much older than them, younger than Remus even, had gone to him in their time of need? And he’d taken them in, no questions asked? They were beginning to feel like they’d severely misjudged him.

“And he found me on Halloween after I’d been kicked out of my house. He took me in when I had no one.” Kennedy admitted, stepping into view. Patton walked in after them, slightly out of breath.

“Maybe next time  _ warn  _ me before you start sprinting halfway across the house.” He said with a smile, laughing breathily. Mara stuck her tongue out, jumping at Virgil, trusting him to catch her. He caught her bridal style and laughed, prepared for this stunt since she’d pulled it so many times.

“But it’s dad!” She whined, and Patton just laughed.

“I’ve got a question.” Remus asked, and they turned to him. “Is it true that you hang around my brother?” At their confused looks he sighed “Roman?” Immediately sour expressions flickered across the kids’ faces, though they tried to hide it.

“Yeah, he-” Adara cut herself off, they didn’t know Roman was Prince, and they were in no place to explain how  _ they  _ knew that. “Let’s just say we’ve had a rough past with him, but he’s... trying.” She said, letting out a sigh. Remus stared in surprise. He had expected them to jump to his brother’s defense, or even get upset at him, but instead they seemed to have similar issues with him, though not the same. 

“He’s alright.” Liam said with a shrug, though the look on his face said that his opinion was iffy at best.

They went through introductions, names, the whole shebang, and when they were done the kids felt much more at ease. Something about seeing the casual and easy way they interacted made them feel safer, like they knew they wouldn’t be hurt, and it was a strange comfort they weren’t expecting. 

“What kind of chaos do you guys get up to?” Adara asked, a wild grin on her face. Virgil rolled his eyes, smiling fondly, and Remus hesitantly spoke up.

“We set the house on fire.” He said tentatively, and her eyes practically sparkled.

“Lucky! Dad never lets me do that.” She said, pouting playfully.

“To be fair, they did it while I was out of the room.” She laughed, beaming at them.

“Can I show you something cool?” She asked, and Remus shared a glance with Janus, before nodding. “Follow me!” She said, and sprinted off. Remus hesitated for only a moment before jumping to his feet, racing after her, Janus following with a sigh.

“Of course.” Virgil said, making no move to follow them. Patton gave him a confused smile.

“Aren’t you going to see what they’re doing?” He asked, and Virgil shook his head, holding up five fingers.

When he put the final finger down, speakers started blaring around the whole house, a random song able to be heard in every room. Virgil let out an exasperated sigh, though he was still smiling. 

“Every chance she gets she shows that off.” He said, and there was a nod from Lillith Mara Kennedy and Liam.

“She showed us when we first arrived too.” Liam said, and the six still sitting stared.

“Hey, how come you haven’t joined  _ us  _ in any chaos yet?” Carlee asked, and Virgil shrugged.

“I mean, I didn’t want to barge in on something if you didn’t want me there, and I know it’s still hard to trust me considering it’s only been a month.” He said, and she gave a thoughtful look, surprised by the genuine answer.

“What’s the most chaotic thing you’ve ever done?” Michael asked, seeming uninterested but silently reveling in the discord they were beginning to sow. Virgil thought for a moment, and in the silence Janus Adara and Remus returned, the music having fallen silent.

“That’s a good question.” He said, trying to remember “I’d have to say the  _ most  _ chaotic thing I’ve done would have to be the time I stopped my own assassination on a live interview.” He said, thinking back. In truth, the most chaotic thing he thought he’d done was adopting Adara. Your enemy causes collateral damage in a fight, which they ignore because ‘you’re the villain’, and you go and straight up adopt the kid whose family was hurt in the fight? But he couldn’t really explain that to them yet, so he settled for the most publicly chaotic thing he’d done.

There was a moment of stunned silence, as even Patton stared at him in shock. Granted, this had most certainly occurred before he’d known Virgil, even if they’d met as Morality and Anxiety, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the celebrity Virgil Storm, but how in the world had he missed  _ that?  _

“You what?” Janus eventually asked, and Adara stepped forwards.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, you’re gonna have to repeat that. How have I not heard about this before?” She asked incredulously, and Virgil chuckled nervously.

“Uhhh, surprise?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	26. Surprise?

“Uhhh, surprise?” He said sheepishly, and Lillith laughed. “I was doing a live interview for Tv, ya know, gotta have their celebrity exclusives, stuff like that. I didn’t particularly care for those things, but I’d rather do that than have people accuse me of things because I never showed up in the spotlight.” He said, giving a quick pointed glance to the kids who already knew his secret. Understanding dawned on them but they said nothing. “And of course, there’s a  _ lot  _ of security there, I think I’m the most famous person they had on that show, which is weird because I never really think about the fact that people know things about me.” He said, before shrugging it off.

“Go on.” Laura said encouragingly, an excited gleam in her eyes. He smiled.

“There was security, but it wasn’t very  _ good,  _ because if someone attacked from a distance, say with a gun or something, then they weren’t much good. So this guy stands up in the crowd and shoots at me, and I uhh,” He paused “Well, it’s better if I just show you.” He said, pulling out his phone. “There are still quite a few recordings out there, even though this happened like ten years ago.” He connected his phone to the tv and it began to play.

Virgil couldn’t help but remember it himself.

_ He sat there in the too-stiff chair, a fake smile on his face. He couldn’t stand the bright lights, the cheery smiles, the attention all on him, and if it was up to him, he’d have blown this place up already. Not really - or at least that’s what he told himself - but honestly it made him wish he had stayed out of the spotlight. _

_ “So, we’ve got a question the viewers have been waiting years to get answered.” Virgil sighed, quietly enough that they didn’t hear it, but his faux cheer dropped for a split second, revealing the tired, worn, and bored expression he hid. Of course, his facade was back up in less than a second, and barely anyone saw, but he was sure the cameras had picked up on it, and there would be countless theories about it online. _

_ “Oh? Do tell.” He said, faking interest. The host leaned in, an overplayed devious smile on his face. _

_ “Is the acclaimed, world-wide-famous, Virgil Storm,” He said, building up tension. Virgil mentally rolled his eyes, they were clearly just doing this for attention from the media. “Single?” He asked, and Virgil scrunched up his nose. Why did they care? What was it to them whether he was seeing someone? _

_ “Well, actually Mark,” He said, but he froze mid-sentence. For a moment they thought he was just pausing for the drama, but Virgil’s mind was racing. _

_ There, a few rows back, he could see it. In the live audience that was there, one man shifted, and something gleamed in the overly bright lights. A concealed pistol, loaded from what Virgil could tell. He shifted again, then slowly stood, barely drawing attention from the enamoured crowd. Then, with the swiftest movement, he pulled out his weapon and fired. _

_ Time seemed to slow down for Virgil, though he’d been shot at countless times before. He couldn’t reveal his powers now, it was way too risky, especially with the cameras still broadcasting to all around the world. He couldn’t do anything dramatic, but that didn’t mean he was helpless. _

_ With one well-placed kick the desk Mark sat at collapsed, causing him to fall to the floor. As he was falling, some of the debris shot out, knocking over the other interviewer who was in the line of fire. Virgil stood faster than anyone could comprehend, holding out his hand in a specific position. _

_ He couldn’t catch the bullet, it would be too obvious, but he could slow it down. His strength meant that slowing it to a near stop was fairly easy for him, it was just a matter of controlling himself so he didn’t entirely catch it.  _

_ The bullet slid through his fingers, the friction painful, but not enough to leave a mark. It landed in the wall behind him, but this time Virgil had the advantage. _

_ While everyone turned towards the shooter, shock and panic making its way through the crowd, Virgil took out a small pocket knife he always kept on him. Granted, he had much more substantial weapons on him as well, but this one would be the least suspicious. With deadly accuracy he threw it, but of course, killing a man on live television, even if self-defense, would have its repercussions. _

_ He neatly sliced off the man’s ear, a small, satisfied smirk coming to his face as he watched it fall to the ground, blood beginning to spurt out, and suddenly time was normal again. He hid his expression, quickly altering the feed so no one would see his incriminating smirk.  _

_ The attacker was quickly tackled by security, and taken away for arrest and investigation. He never did get to answer that question, as the interview ended there for the safety of everyone involved.  _

It was weird for Virgil, seeing his past self act so cold and yet fake happiness so well. It was roughly 2 years before he adopted Adara, so he had no real reason to care about much other than himself. He smiled to himself, he had never actually answered that question, nor in any interview after that. The suspense must’ve driven people insane, he bet half of his money that people were still theorizing about it to this day. 

How amusing.

He glanced around the room at the shocked expressions of everyone present. No one really knew how to react, and silence settled around them. What were they supposed to say? They just watched him expertly dodge being shot on live television - as well as somehow knowing he was in danger soon enough to get two other people safely out of the way first. How in the world were they supposed to respond to that?

“So, are you single?” Janus finally asked, breaking the silence. Laughter broke out, and the tension dissipated.

“Please, like I know enough people to fall for someone.” He said, snorting. Adara wiggled her eyebrows.

“I don’t know, do you?” She asked, and he laughed, rolling his eyes.

“Come one, let us meet your girlfriend!” Remus teased, an easy smile on his face. Virgil stopped for a moment, looking him dead in the eyes, before he burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry, but what about me made you think I’m straight? I need to change it immediately.” He joked, and there was another round of laughter. 

“You were right, I’d say that’s the most chaotic thing I’ve seen.” Carlee said, smiling. Virgil beamed. 

“That is the highest honor you could bestow upon me.” He said, bowing dramatically. 

“Of course, your royal highness.” Mariah said, giving a courtesy. 

They spent the next few hours just swapping their most chaotic stories, though it’s fair to say that none of them could top Virgil’s. He shared a few from his childhood as well, and soon the house was filled with laughter and easy chatter. 


	27. Bravery Of A Different Kind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the break, editing the chapters to actually upload takes a lot of energy, and I can get really busy sometimes.   
> I just wanted to let you all know that I will be gone for 2 weeks with no access to my computer, though hopefully I can schedule updates to happen while I'm away. But if I disappear for another stretch of time know that I haven't abandoned this, my family just doesn't care about the severity of covid.

Nothing major happened until two weeks later, though he had introduced them to Logan a week before. They hadn’t particularly cared, simply going about their business as usual, though Carlee was begrudgingly grateful for the tutoring he offered. 

It happened late one night, when almost everyone had gone to bed, the only people still awake being Virgil, Remus, and Janus. Virgil was just lounging on the couch, trying to find a good movie to watch, when he heard quiet footsteps approaching. He glanced up, seeing Janus, but kept his eyes on the tv. It was up to Janus if he wanted to talk to him or not.

“Hey.” He said quietly, and Virgil looked up. He saw the serious expression on his face, the nervous look in his eyes, and immediately he sat up, setting the remote aside.

“Hey. What’s up?” He asked gently, trying not to pry. Janus fidgeted with his hands, not meeting his eyes.

“You’re part of the LGBTQ community, right?” He asked, and Virgil nodded.

“Yep. And I hope you know that this is a safe space, for anyone.” He said earnestly, and Janus’ eyes flickered up, a hint of a smile on his face, though it quickly fell.

“Yeah. Well, I think,” He bit his lip, his anxiety growing. “I think I’m a demiboy?” He said tentatively, and Virgil smiled.

“Thank you for trusting me.” Janus nodded slightly “What pronouns do you use?” He asked, and Janus looked up fully, relief clear in his expression.

“He/him or they/them works.” They said, and Virgil smiled. 

“Alright. Do you have a preferred name?” He asked, and Janus shook his head.

“Nah, Janus works fine. Well, ya know, when there aren’t other people around, then it’s just Dee.” He said, and Virgil nodded. Janus gave a small smile. “Thanks for understanding.” 

“No problem.” And with that Janus practically fled, which Virgil could understand. Just because he had been brave enough to tell him didn’t mean he wasn’t scared out of his mind, and he could understand wanting to get out of there as fast as possible.

Virgil went back to flipping through the different movies, not interested in the majority of them. As chaotic as his life was, it could be almost startingly boring sometimes, when he had nothing to do. He hadn’t been out on patrol in a few weeks, though that wasn’t all that suspicious. He still hadn’t taken more than a few full days away from the kids, he didn’t want them to feel unsafe if he wasn’t there.

An hour later he still hadn’t found anything to watch, and he was about to give up and go find something else to do, when he heard footsteps once again, this time distinctly less quiet, without the same practiced carefulness in them as before. Sure enough, it was Remus this time, not Janus, who had come to see him.

“Hey, Virge.” He said, trying to put on his usual energetic smile, though he could tell it lacked his usual confidence.

“What’s up?” Virgil asked, trying to keep his voice casual, though he suspected what was coming.

“Jan said that you were accepting of him, so uh, I decided I wanted to tell you something as well.” He said, and Virgil nodded.

“Of course.” He gave a welcoming smile. 

“I’m genderfluid.” He said bluntly, and Virgil nodded. 

“Do you still go by Remus or do you have a preferred name?” He asked. He just wanted them to feel safe and comfortable in his home, and he was glad they trusted him enough to come out to him, god knows he’d felt the fear of coming out before. Remus sighed.

“Just Remus works fine. I’m currently using they/them pronouns.” They said, trying to hide the sheer nervousness they felt. Virgil smiled gently. 

“Thank you for telling me.” He said, and Remus nodded, giving a small smile before disappearing down the hall.

Virgil smiled to himself, standing up and turning the tv off. He had meant to do this earlier but he’d forgotten, and now was the perfect time anyways. He had a small whiteboard in the dining room where they all ate breakfast, but he’d never ended up using it. 

_ Daily Pronoun Check  _ he wrote on the board, and then each of their names, including his own. He wouldn’t update his until morning, but it meant that, as long as they were comfortable, he wouldn’t have to call them by the wrong pronouns just because he was unaware. He also made a note to put up the same board at home, it was important that all of them were seen and heard. 

With that thought in mind he decided to finally get some rest, he had a few important things planned for tomorrow and all of them required him to be actually functioning rather than living off of coffee. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support you've given me, this series would not have been possible without it <3


	28. Perceptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, quick reminder that I will be away for 2 weeks starting Friday, I will try to schedule updates but that really depends on how much free time I have before we leave.

The first one to notice it was Michael, though he actually didn’t end up noticing until Mariah, Sophia, and Jake were there. All of them were tired, so he couldn’t blame them, but the second he noticed he walked up to it without question, taking one of the markers he’d left there and writing he/him next to his name. Virgil smiled, and soon enough everyone at the table had written their pronouns.

Mariah and Sophia both wrote she/her - though he’d had to explain to Sophia what pronouns were, but she understood fairly quickly - while both Jake and Michael were he/him, as well as Virgil, who’d written his before any of them woke up. 

Janus and Remus came in together, Laura coming in a few minutes after them. It took a moment, but Janus was the first to notice, and he glanced at Virgil questioningly.

“I’m assuming that’s how you spell it, correct me if I’m wrong.” He said, referring to where he’d written ‘Dee’ on the board. Janus just nodded, going up and writing he/him for the day, Remus following him with they/them. Laura waited a few minutes until she was fully awake, but wrote she/her as well.

Virgil smiled to himself, it wasn’t necessarily the most important thing, but he was happy they were taking to it well. It meant they didn’t have to worry about constantly checking if they were using the right pronouns, they could easily check it - and it was easy enough to fix if they changed at any point in the day - and go about their day.

Today was a school day, sadly, so once they were ready Virgil brought them outside, as usual. He’d hired a private bus driver, renting one of the short buses, to drive them to each of their schools. Of course, some of them left an hour after the others since they were different ages, and he had decided - with all of their permission, of course - that the bus driver would stop at his other house as well to pick up the rest of the kids.

Virgil couldn’t help but marvel at the thought. If anyone had told him that when he was older he’d have adopted  _ 13  _ kids he wouldn’t have believed them, not one bit. Yet here he was, living happily alongside the heroes who used to fight him, with 13 children under his care.

Once they had all been safely sent on their way he sighed to himself, grabbing his phone and dialing up Roman once again. He was much more frustrated with Roman this time, as he hadn’t reached out whatsoever to update him, even though he’d said he’d look into it. Even a small update of ‘I didn’t have time yet to look into it, give me another week or 2’ would’ve been fine, but nothing.

And not to mention that now that the kids were spending more time at school than at home (he’d officially gotten 2 weeks off of school for them all when they’d first moved in, so it would be easier to adjust) he’d had more time to come to terms with everything that had happened, and while he didn’t totally hate Roman, he was still frustrated with him.

He didn’t wait once Roman picked up the phone, getting straight to the point. “Any updates?” He asked, trying to keep his cool. It wouldn’t help anyone if he blew up at Roman, and he knew how to control his anger. 

He wasn’t expecting the panicked response he received.

“I think I know who they are, all I need to figure out is where.” His voice was rushed and quiet, and Virgil’s frustration immediately dropped, worry quickly replacing it.

“Whoah, slow down. What’s going on?” He asked, and Roman let out a deep breath.

“It’s a villain by the name of Mother, have you heard of her? From what I can tell one of her abilities is weather manipulation, which makes her dangerously powerful. She’s been causing a town not too far from the city to have acid rain for the past month, meaning no one’s been able to go outside, and the lightning that occasionally comes with the rain looks exactly the same. Be careful, she’s watching like a hawk to see if Anxiety will pop up after what she did at the island. I think it’s best if you stay off patrol for a while.” He said, and Virgil sighed.

“Alright, it’s not like I planned to go out any time soon anyways. How serious is it?” He asked, and he heard a sharp inhale on the other side.

“Like, would-strike-you-dead-the-second-she-saw-you serious. I’m not exaggerating, I’ve been looking into it and the last person she targeted was a hero called Lightfall, and when the first attempt failed she instantly vaporized him the next time she saw him.” He said, and Virgil felt a shiver go down his spine. Something about that didn’t sit right with him, and it wasn’t just the fact that his life was in danger, or that they’d killed someone else before. 

No, there was some link, some connection between him and Lightfall, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was. He’d barely even heard of this hero before today, so why did he suddenly feel like the fact that he’d died meant that his own fate was suddenly grim, even outside the costume?

“Alright. Let me know as soon as you know where they are, I’ve got my invisibility so I should be fine for now.” He said, and with that Roman hung up.

Just to be safe, Virgil made sure to cancel any public plans he’d had, not that there were many. Until he knew what was going on with this villain and why they wanted him dead, he wasn’t risking anything. He wanted to live, thank you very much, and even if not for his own sake, then for the kids. He wasn’t just going to abandon them like that, he refused to.


	29. Hectic Battles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry, I took a bit of a hiatus for a while (I still haven't written anything for this fic, but I have plenty of pre-written chapters to post) but I'll (hopefully) be posting more again, I have not abandoned this.  
> I'm also currently working really hard on a fic for another fandom, that I might post the beginning of soon, so be on the lookout for that if you're interested!

There was no news for the rest of the day, which was a little unsettling, but Virgil could handle it. He decided to go on patrol anyways, while he had the chance, but he remained invisible the entire time. Even when he had to stop a mugging he didn’t show himself, which made for some interesting reactions, from both sides. It also meant he didn’t have to worry about them getting an accurate hit in, though he had to be wary of them accidentally hitting him when they flailed around.

There was surprisingly not much action going on in the city that day, so he didn’t have much to do, and soon enough he was back at the house. He decided to stop at his home first, might as well greet Adara and co when they got home, he hadn’t done that in a while.

He was thinking about asking both groups if they were comfortable with the 8 moving to his other house. If they weren’t he was fine, it wasn’t anything particularly important, but he didn’t want to keep them separated arbitrarily if they were alright with being with the others.

He also supposed that he’d have to tell them that he was Anxiety at some point, especially if they all moved in together, but he was dreading it. He didn’t want them to hate him, sure, but more importantly he didn’t want them to feel unsafe around him. He could deal with them not liking him, but he wanted them to feel safe, and he couldn’t guarantee that once he told them.

Adara practically screamed at seeing him, running towards him with more enthusiasm than he thought possible. He smiled, catching her easily. Soon he was being hugged on all sides. As much as he’d love to stay, he wanted to head back to greet the other kids as well, even though they’d been dropped off first. 

He walked inside, chatting with them with Adara still in his arms, when he received a sudden phone call. Normally he’d ignore it but when he saw Roman calling he instantly picked up, Roman  _ never  _ called him. He was met with frantic shouting.

“Virgil we need to go  _ quick _ . I know where they are but they won’t be there for long, Patton and Logan are already on the way. Head to the mountains just past the city, we’ll meet you there.” He said, and immediately hung up. Virgil didn’t have time to think, didn’t hesitate a moment longer, instantly changing to shadow form and darting away.

The other four stared in confusion at where Virgil had been moments before, they’d overheard snippets of what Roman had said but they didn’t really understand. And it seemed Virgil had accidentally taken Adara with him, which would be a wild story when they came back.

Virgil only changed back miles away, when it was clear he’d have to take to the sky for the rest of the journey. He shifted, only for someone else to tumble to the ground as he took off. He froze, glancing back at the ground with growing dread. Adara blinked up at him, confused and dazed, and he sighed, darting down.

He carried her in his arms, taking to the skies as he made both of them invisible. No point getting them killed on the way to the fight. On the way he stopped on top of a building for a split second, flickering between shadow and human for a split second, just long enough that when they reappeared Adara was wearing a completely different outfit, complete with a mask to hide her identity. She sighed, allowing herself to be carried, since there was no way he was letting her fly there on her own, even by his side.

When he saw Logan hovering in the air he raced over, making himself visible but keeping Adara from being seen. It was something he’d only recently discovered he could do - allowing her to remain invisible even if he stopped touching her, keeping her safe even if she really should still be at home.

He didn’t have time to feel guilty though, because all of their lives were in danger, and they needed to deal with it  _ now.  _

Patton was midair next to Logan, with Roman balancing precariously on his flames. Virgil sighed, giving Adara an apologetic look, and she nodded, wordlessly taking flight on her own.  _ Don’t worry, I’ll be fine  _ she said, and Virgil blinked. He didn’t know how he’d managed to forget she could do that, but he just shook it off, flying over to Roman.

“Dude, you’re gonna fall like that.” He said, and Roman scoffed.

“You don’t trust me?” He asked, but Virgil didn’t take the bait.

“No. And it’s happened before.” Roman blinked at him before deflating, giving a sheepish look.

“Sorry, I’m just worried.” He said, and Virgil sighed. 

“Whatever.” And with that he grabbed Roman, easily hoisting him over his shoulder. 

“Hey!” He cried indignantly, and Virgil rolled his eyes. “I’m fine on my own, you don’t have to carry me.” He pouted, and Logan flew over.

“It is more wise to let him carry you, considering he has enhanced strength and you can’t fly. We’re losing time.” He said, and Roman pouted, shifting until he was at least sitting on Virgil’s shoulder instead. Virgil honestly couldn’t care less, and without another word they took off, Virgil giving Adara worried looks every now and then to make sure she was still there.

She was invigorated, her first real fight, and the other heroes didn’t even know she was there. And it was fine, even though she was somewhat slower than them, any time she fell behind she could simply teleport forwards, keeping pacing with relative ease. 

At the base of the mountains sat one of the most extravagant people Virgil had ever seen, even more so than Roman, which was saying something.

A woman in a forest green victorian gown sat sipping tea at a small table, trying to look innocent despite the fact that she was seated in the middle of nowhere. She looked surprised when she saw Roman, though no one knew why, and her mask hid her identity too well for them to make a guess. She sighed, carefully setting her teacup down, before giving a cruel smirk.

In moments she took to the air, though in a… different, manner than usual. She created pillars out of thin air, jumping from one to another in leaps that should be physically impossible without breaking any bones, and Roman stared. She was the second person he’d ever met to have the same power as him, and something about her didn’t sit right with him.

One quick energy blast from Logan and she was falling, and Adara knocked the pillars aside, preventing her from catching herself. Of course, she ended up drawing in a cloud beneath her, which Logan found highly illogical - clouds were water vapor, they weren’t solid, but he supposed she could manipulate them with the rest of the weather - catching herself and disappearing into the sky.

They all raced after her, Roman sighing from his precarious placement on Virgil’s shoulders. He trusted Virgil not to drop him, but there wasn’t much he could do until Virgil was the one to reach her. Of course, Virgil was faster than him, especially when it came to flying, but still. It wasn’t under his control.

Though, that wasn’t to say he was helpless. The second she came into view he shot a blast of fire at her, and he was surprised when he saw the glare Virgil gave him. He didn’t realize that he’d almost just hit Adara right in the face with fire, her teleportation the only thing saving her in that moment. She stuck with Virgil after that, though she tried to yank away any objects the woman created.

She waved her hand lazily, and an energy-shield appeared next to her, eerily similar to Patton’s, though this was a mix of an emerald green, a bright red, and a tint of black around the edges. Patton raised his own shield, electricity crackling around him.

He could feel Adara’s presence, he could always sense when there was another empath around, and it made him furious that this lady dared attack when a child was there, even if she didn’t know it. Not to mention that she was targeting his friend, and that Roman had said she’d  _ killed  _ a hero before, directly and on purpose, for no apparent reason!

Logan sighed, there was really no point in holding back for any contrived sense of higher morality. This was genuine life or death, no games or holding back like his fights with Virgil, if he didn’t give his all, they would  _ die.  _

He held up his hands, sparks and smoke flickering from them, and everyone backed up. Logan  _ rarely  _ used his ability to create explosions, and they could see in his eyes that he wasn’t holding back. Adara could see it happening before anyone else could, and right as he attacked she created a force-field, protecting everyone in his range, though sadly she couldn’t protect Logan, otherwise the explosion would be inside the force-field and it wouldn’t do much then.

The woman went flying, her hair sizzling as soot covered her face, her mask barely holding together. She snarled, allowing herself to drop through the clouds and creating a paraglider to catch herself, steering it quickly away.

They all glanced at Virgil for a moment, realizing what the force-field meant, but they had no time to discuss it, racing after her before she could get away. Virgil tried distorting her reality, if she thought she was falling she might panic, but she just laughed, leaning back as though she was really free-falling, and he growled, diving after her.

“Whatcha gonna do pretty boy? You don’t have long to live.” Lightning appeared above him, though Virgil noticed it carefully avoided Roman. Why him? Why did she want  _ him  _ specifically dead? What was the connection?

He heard the spark of electricity above him and resigned himself to his fate, there wasn’t much he could do considering even if he dodged the lightning would still target him. He pulled out a weapon and started slashing at her, but she dodged like it was nothing. He had seconds to live, and this was how he was going to spend it? Oh, well, not much he could do about it.

All he knew is that whatever afterlife there was, he was going to make her life  **_hell_ ** for doing this to his kids.

Before he had time to really regret his life choices however, Roman dove forwards, throwing himself off his perch on Virgil’s shoulder as he shot fire into her face, tackling her midair. The lightning dissipated and they began falling faster, the paraglider disappearing. She screeched, clawing at him, but he just kept burning her, his hands alight with flames as he clung to her, ignoring his own quickly darkening fate.

“You dumbass!” Virgil shouted, prying him off her just before she hit the ground. She created a trampoline beneath her, easily bouncing back into the sky, but he didn’t care. “You’re  _ not  _ allowed to die for me.” He said, and with that he tossed him into the sky. Roman sputtered for a moment before creating a jetpack on his back.

How he’d never thought of that, considering the way he’d kept himself in the air previously was basically doing that manually, he had no clue, but he didn’t have time to care. They took off again after her, Patton and Roman shooting electricity and fire at her, respectively, while Logan kept trying to steer her towards the ground. If they could get her to stop moving so much it would be a much easier fight.

Eventually they cornered her, or at least, they thought they did. Her back was pressed up against the mountain, but instead of looking panicked, she just gave an invigorated smirk, ducking to the side as she avoided a blow, rolling into a cave that none of them had noticed.

They had to walk now, the ceiling too low to safely attempt to fly, and the walls too close for them to even fully expand their wings. Adara stayed close behind Virgil as they sprinted through the cave, the winds and turns making it more and more difficult to see as time went on. Adara created a miniature force-field, glad that it gave off enough light to let them see where they were going.

They reached the end of the cave, thankful that there weren’t any splits, otherwise it would’ve been a nightmare. The woman stood with a devilish grin on her face, but right when Logan went in for a punch she disappeared with a poof of smoke. It wasn’t until the smoke cleared that they realized.

Virgil was gone too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to my world of cliffhangers :)


	30. (Re)Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand we're back. Just a quick note, I probably won't update as frequently as I did before, since I've lost a lot of motivation for this story, however I have plenty of pre-written chapters that I hope I'll be posting somewhat often. Thanks for sticking with me

They looked around frantically, but there was no Virgil to be seen, and the villain was gone. Adara was suddenly visible as well, which just made it all the more hectic, because now they had a child to take care of while finding where they’d went.

Actually, wait a minute.  _ Two  _ children stood there. One of them was Adara, and another child, looking afraid and confused. He glanced around nervously, and they had to guess he was around Adara’s age. Who was this kid? And why was he here? 

His dark brown hair almost bordered on black, especially in the dim lighting, and it fell in front of eyes, though he tried to blow it away. He wore a grey jacket, a lilac shirt underneath, and the bags under his eyes almost looked like eyeshadow. 

The most surprising thing about him, however, were his eyes. It was hard to see with his bangs in the way, but one was a bright green, like a spring bloom, while the other was an unnatural purple, vibrant as a flower. He shoved his hands in his pockets, backing against the wall nervously, and the heroes immediately fell into a hushed discussion. What were they supposed to do?!

“Hey.” Adara said softly, and the kid looked at her, shocked.

“You’re… you’re talking to me?” He whispered back, and she nodded, an open smile on her face. Something about him was distinctly familiar, the emotional presence practically screaming at her. 

“Yeah. I know it’s scary right now, but it’s gonna be okay.” She said, and he glanced at her worriedly.

“I guess.” He said, his voice still low, and she knew the heroes weren’t paying attention. 

“Oh, right.” She said, peeling off her mask. “Those guys are heroes, we were fighting someone but they got away. I’m Adara.” She said, calmly, and that’s when it hit her.

She could feel the differences between people’s emotional presences, thanks to her empathy. It worked slightly differently than Patton’s, since he could only feel when another empath was near, but she could distinctly tell the difference between everyone, even if she closed her eyes and they all switched places.

If someone was replaced, even with an exact copy of themselves, she’d be able to tell the difference because their emotional presence would be different, even if only in a small way. So this kid  _ should  _ have a wildly different emotional presence than anyone she knew, considering she’d never met them before. 

But instead, it felt almost the same, but with a few key details removed. Less anxiety, for one, some compassion and understanding gone, but also some trauma not there yet either. Her heart began to sink as she realized what might’ve happened.

“Hey, would you mind telling me your name?” She said, just loud enough to get the others' attention. They turned to her, it was obvious she had wanted them to overhear, so they watched as the kid fidgeted with his jacket.

“Virgil. Virgil Storm.” He said quietly, and the heroes’ jaws dropped. Adara smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you Virgil.” She said, fully aware of what was going on now. Somehow, that lady had managed to revert Virgil back to when he was a kid, clearly without any memories of anything that had happened after whatever point in time he was from. “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” He glanced at the heroes, then back at her.

“12. And you?” He asked, seeming suspicious. 

“Same here.” She said, and he gave her a hesitant smile.

“Let’s go home.” Logan said simply, and Virgil visibly wilted.

“Kiddo, do you know where your parents are?” Patton asked, and Virgil’s eyes flashed with terror. Adara’s heart cracked.

“Please don’t make me go back to them.” He rushed out, looking panicked. “I promise I’ll be good, I’ll go to whatever home you want me to, just don’t make me go back to  _ them _ .” He pressed himself against the wall, hunching in on himself.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. We won’t make you go back.” Patton said, and Virgil glanced up at him with quivering lips.

“You promise?” He asked, his voice shaking, and Patton nodded, feeling heartbroken.

“I promise.” He said gently, and Virgil visibly relaxed, though he still was worried out of his mind.

“You can come back with us, if you’d like.” She said, and Virgil met her eyes.

“Really? You won’t try to kill me?” He asked, and Roman felt like he’d been stabbed.

This was Virgil. The Virgil that he’d fought for years. That he’d said so many horrible things to. That he’d berated and attacked and torn down. This was the Virgil that had shut down around him, had completely turned his emotions off when in battle. The same Virgil who had been willing to die for his kids.

The same Virgil that he’d said would turn out just like the parents he’d had.

He could barely breathe. Is this what Virgil’s panic felt like? Suffocating and heart-breaking and mind-numbing all at once? He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t begin to comprehend how horrible his actions had been.

Adara took one glance at Roman and sighed, shoving all of them together, and carefully grabbing Virgil’s hand. She closed her eyes in concentration, focusing carefully, and with a quick  _ pop  _ they were back at home.

Lillith stared at her in confusion, glancing at Virgil.  _ It’s dad, but he doesn’t remember anything past when he was 12.  _ She told her mentally, and Lillith’s eyes widened. With a nod she set off before Virgil even had time to understand what was happening. Virgil turned to her.

“You have powers?” He asked, surprise etched on his face. She nodded, taking out her wings.

“Yep. Technically I wasn’t supposed to be on that mission, but I got accidentally dragged along, and by the time they realized it was too late.” She said with a sheepish smile. Virgil gave her a genuine smile and she could honestly say right then and there that she would die for him.

Granted, she would’ve died for him before, he was her dad after all, but now the feeling was magnified by around a thousand. And, judging on the expressions on the heroes' faces, they were all thinking roughly the same thing. 

This was going to be one wild ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's interested, I'll probably be soon uploading some of the first chapters for the new fic I'm working on, though it's not Sanders Sides. Keep an eye out for that, it's my current passion project


	31. Planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to schedule a few chapters, this will be the first one, so there won't be as long gaps in between uploads. It will start out daily, but I don't know how many I'll be able to edit/upload right now, so it's undetermined. Look out for new chapters though!

Virgil had spent most of the day exploring the house, getting used to the tall ceilings and large halls. Adara had offered to show him around, but he insisted on going on his own, probably so he could use his powers and not worry about anyone else seeing them.

Lillith, Mara, Kennedy and Liam were all gathered in the living room, waiting for Adara to tell them what the fuck had happened while they were gone. She made sure that he was okay first, before finally deciding she should tell them, there was no real point in waiting.

“So,” Kennedy said as she sat down. “Care to explain?” They said, trying to not show how much they were freaking out internally. Adara gave a sheepish smile.

“You want the long version or the short version?” She asked, and they all shared a look.

“Long version, if you will.” Liam said, and she let out a nervous laugh.

“Well, I guess I’ll start with why I was brought along. Basically he got a phone call from Roman that the villain that was specifically trying to kill Virgil had been found and that they needed to go fight them before they went missing again.” Already there were panicked glances, so they were off to a great start. “Since I was in his arms when he changed to shadow form, I got changed as well, and he was too frantic to notice until he changed back, at which point we were already halfway there. He didn’t have time to bring me back since lives were in danger and, well, let’s just say the fight was… odd.” She said, and they all sat forwards in their seats, enraptured.

“Go on!” Mara urged, and Adara sighed, looking confused.

“She… she had creation, like Roman. And could make a shield, like Patton. But it wasn’t just her copying their powers, she looked genuinely surprised when Patton created a shield too, though she seemed to already know about Roman’s powers.” She stopped, growing more worried as she thought about it more “Actually, she seemed to know a lot about Roman. Like she already knew him, knew what he would do. And when she attacked Virgil, she purposefully avoided attacking Roman, though Roman didn’t seem to know her.” She said, and now the suspicion settled in.

“What was the villain’s name again?” Lillith asked carefully. Adara met her eyes, panic setting in.

“If I remember correctly, the villain’s name was Mother.” She said, and they shared worried glances. Adara waved it off. “Look, I know we’re all suspicious of Roman, but he genuinely didn’t seem to know her, and it’s not unheard of for someone to have the same powers as another person. Plus, all heroes and villains pick weird names. Roman’s is literally his last name, so…” She trailed off and there was a shared sigh. 

“I mean, yeah. We should still keep an eye on that though.” Mara said, and she nodded. 

“Of course. She had an… interesting fighting style. She couldn’t fly, but she did her damnedest trying, creating pillars to jump from, using a paraglider, even creating a literal cloud to float on. We ended up in a cave and when we finally caught up to her she just kind of… disappeared? Like there was smoke and then she was gone, and dad was a kid. Though, at first no one realized it was him, thinking he was gone too and there was just a random kid.” She said, and Liam nodded.

“I can see why.” He said, and Adara glanced around, lowering her voice.

“One thing I need to tell you guys though is, he… has a  _ lot  _ of trauma he hasn’t told us about. When Patton asked if he knew where his parents were he started  **_begging_ ** him to not be brought back to them. I know he was in the system for a while, but I think he was talking about his actual parents. And considering that, in his mind, he hasn’t had a lot of time to deal with that…” She trailed off again, but they got the message. “It’s best if we refrain from telling him anything about the fact that he’s our dad, or anything about his future. And try to avoid talking about parents I guess? We don’t know how long he’s going to be like this, I don’t want to make him feel worse.” She said, and they nodded. 

They’d do anything they could to make sure he felt safe.

Meanwhile, across the house, Patton Logan and Roman were having a furtive discussion. None of them really knew how to deal with Virgil like this, especially considering he, at this point in time, hadn’t learned how to repress his trauma or emotions, which was evident in the way he acted. The difference was startling, to say the least.

“What are we supposed to do?! Virgil’s a kid now, which means not only does he not know what’s going on, but he’s in even more danger! And not to mention-” Roman was cut off abruptly by Logan, pinching the bridge of his nose with a tired sigh.

“Yes, Roman, we’re aware of the issues at hand. However, what we need to be focusing on, is the kids. Obviously these five know he’s Anxiety, so they’re not completely freaked out. But the other kids  _ don’t  _ know that, which means that not only can they not find out about this, but that they won’t be able to see Virgil for an undetermined amount of time. He’s going to be ‘missing’ again, and they need someone to stand in.” He said, and Patton stepped forwards.

“I’m happy to take care of the kids, I’m fine with taking off of work for this.” He said, and Roman took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

“I would, but Remus still isn’t comfortable with me. Now is  _ not  _ the time I want to start overstepping boundaries.” He said, and Logan sighed again.

“Alright, I’ll help Patton and start looking into ways to reverse this. I don’t think this was one of her abilities, because it happened in the puff of smoke, which means that there’s an external cause for this. You look after these kids, and keep an eye on Virgil, okay?” He said, and with that they quickly split, before Roman could even begin to voice his concerns.

Why was he, the one who’d fought with Virgil the most, the one who had to look after him? That was bound to end in disaster, and he was already feeling extra guilt eating away at him, having to spend time with Virgil in this state would only serve to make it worse.

He sighed. This wasn’t about him. Right now, Virgil and the kids needed him. He could set his feelings aside, he had to be the responsible one for once, they needed him to be. 

He wouldn’t let them down.


	32. No<3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how I'm running out of chapter titles so at this point anything goes I guess askhslkdg  
> Edit: Apparently you can't schedule updates so :/

When Roman set out to find everyone, since Patton and Logan had both left to talk with the other kids, he wasn’t expecting to find Virgil so soon.

Nor was he expecting to find him on the ceiling.

How he’d managed to do that, Roman had no idea, considering - as far as he knew - Virgil didn’t have any powers that would directly allow him to do that. Granted, his wings were out, but he wasn’t beating them, and he just sat on the ceiling, knees hugged to his chest, eyes closed as he listened to something with his overly large headphones. He supposed he’d found them somewhere, assumed they were for him, and taken them, which was fair.

“Uh, hi.” Roman said, and the reaction was instant. He flinched severely, disconnecting himself from the ceiling and falling fast. Roman managed to catch him - to both of their surprise - and he carefully set him down. “Sorry. If I may ask, though, how did you stay up there?” He asked, and Virgil backed away nervously.

“I, uh, might’ve,” He lifted his foot, peeling a heavy-duty suction cup off the bottom of his shoe. He took another off his other foot, holding them out sheepishly. Roman stared incredulously.

“Holy-” He met Virgil’s eyes “How did you have the strength though? That takes a ridiculous amount of core strength to hold yourself in that position, even if you were held to the ceiling by your feet.” Roman gave a slight smile. “You might have to train me sometime.” He joked, and Virgil smiled nervously.

“You’re not… mad?” He asked, and Roman shook his head.

“No, I’m more impressed than anything.” He said, and at Virgil’s serious look he let out a gentle sigh. “Honestly, you could do just about anything and I wouldn’t be mad at you. I know you’ve had bad experiences before, but… you’re safe here.” Roman cursed himself internally. He knew he wasn’t the best at comfort, but he at least had to try, for Virgil. Virgil gave him a timid smile, before realizing his wings were still out.

“Oh, god, you weren’t supposed to know-” He said, instantly pulling them back in, and Roman held up a hand.

“It’s okay. I think your wings look cool.” He said honestly, and Virgil looked up at him with stars in his eyes.

Welp, it was official. He would die for Virgil as a kid.

“You mean it?” He asked, as though he didn’t fully believe him. Roman nodded, smiling.

“Yeah, they’re really cool.” Virgil beamed at him, his whole face lighting up like he’d just been given the world, before dashing off. Roman was left wondering how this kid was the same person that had called him a dumbass earlier that day for just doing what he was supposed to do.

He continued searching the house, and he was mildly surprised that, when he finally found the kids, Virgil was among them, laughing with them easily as they told him stories. He stopped, couldn’t help but stare. Virgil was just so  _ happy,  _ in a way he’d never seen. Sure, Virgil had been happy before, especially when around his kids, but it was never so  _ open,  _ so genuine, so easy. He was happy just because, didn’t need a reason, was able to just laugh and have fun.

It made him realize just how  **unhappy** he’d been before. Even when he was having fun, he was always so tense, as if at any moment it could all be ripped away from him. But now, sitting there, he looked… free. It hit him like a punch to the gut.

This Virgil, the one so open with his trauma, who’d clearly been through way too much already, at only 12, was happier, freer, than the Virgil who was in control of his life, than the Virgil who had a family and a home and so much. He had spent a few hours with people who didn’t hate him and was happier now than he had been spending months with them before, after he’d gone through everything else.

“Hey Roman. I guess you’re the responsible one now?” Adara asked with a smile, trying to hide her amusement. Ohhhh.

Oh no.

“I guess so.” He said, half-smiling. She grinned, letting out a laugh. 

“You know what?” Lillith said, a mischievous smirk on her face, and Roman felt his dread settling in. “Why don’t we play tag? This house is big enough.” She said, and Roman’s eyes widened. He was in for it now.

“You’re it!” Kennedy yelled, tagging him and sprinting away. He had to admit, he was somewhat impressed, watching as they scattered in different directions. They were faster than he’d thought. 

Now the real problem was finding them. He ran down a hallway which he thought he’d seen one of them go down, but he had no clue. They may not be directly fighting him, but he knew that there was still some salt directed at him, and if this was the way they got it out, then he supposed he was glad they were at least dealing with it.

Even if he had to suffer in the meantime.

He ran around the corner and almost sprinted head-first into Virgil. Virgil took one glance at him and sprinted away, faster than Roman could even dream - and he wasn’t even in his shadow form! That kid was  _ fast,  _ there was no way Roman was catching him. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t catch any of them.

This went on for quite a few hours, until they eventually got too tired to continue. Well, Virgil still had energy somehow, but he agreed to end the game as well. They all flopped on the couch, too exhausted to care about sitting properly. 

“Hey, Virgil?” Kennedy said, and Virgil hummed, glancing at them from his perch on the back of the couch, precariously balanced yet relaxed all the same. “I would die for you.” They said calmly, and Virgil froze.

“W-what?” He sputtered out, and Adara hummed in agreement.

“Same here.” She said, and Virgil sat up, shocked.

“Same.” The rest of them said unanimously, Roman included, and Virgil looked at all of them, a mix of confusion, surprise and disbelief in his eyes.

“What? Why?” He asked, and Mara laughed.

“Because we care about you.” She said, as though it was obvious. Virgil stared.

“You barely know me!” He said, and she shrugged.

“Maybe so. Still would die for you.” He gaped. 

“But why? Why would you care about  _ me  _ that much?” He asked, and the words hit them all like a slap to the face.

“Do we need a reason to care about you?” Adara asked, sitting up as well. He frowned.

“But… why?” He asked, such genuine confusion in his voice that it hurt. “No one  _ ever  _ cares about me that much, not truthfully.” He said, and if Roman’s heart wasn’t shattered before, it was now. 

“Well then they were idiots for not realizing how grateful they should’ve been to have you.” Mara said, a determined look in her eyes. Virgil relaxed slightly, though he still looked utterly confused. 

“Okay.” He said, unsure how to react. It seemed to be the right response, because they all visibly wound down, relaxing on the couch once more.

“Say, Virge, what’s your favorite movie?” Liam asked, and Virgil paused. He’d never been given a nickname before, at least, not one that wasn’t also an insult. He smiled to himself, daring to hope that things would be better.

“Black Cauldron?” He said, though he sounded unsure. Roman’s whole face lit up, and the kids internally groaned, though they smiled.

“So you’re a Disney fan!” Roman said, and Virgil’s smile dropped.

“Yeah?” He said nervously, and Roman only grinned wider.

“Alright, tonight’s movie night, we’re watching every Disney movie ever made.” He said, and Lillith rolled her eyes.

“We have all night, not all  _ year.”  _ She said, but he brushed it off, racing off to grab the movie. Virgil let out a relieved sigh, settling back into the couch.

Maybe things would be okay.


	33. A Tiny Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter out! I'm focusing on like 4 writing projects right now, plus schoolwork, so sorry if the updates are slow. I'm still trying to get back into it.

They only made it to midnight before they decided they’d had enough of movies. Granted, the snacks and sing alongs had been great, especially considering how enthusiastic Virgil got, but they could only sit in one place for so long.

Virgil ended up staying with Roman, to his surprise, while the other kids all split up, doing their own things. Virgil was nervous, while everyone seemed so kind, so caring, he couldn’t trust it. He knew they could turn on him at any moment. As much as he wanted to trust them, he didn’t know if they were just playing him, trying to earn his trust so they could break it.

Regardless, he hung around Roman, as he was the only adult around. The adults usually liked when the new kid was in sight, he’d gotten in trouble too many times for disappearing on the first day, even if the other kids did it. He stayed a good distance away from him, not wanting to intrude, but just close enough that Roman could see him.

“Heya Virgil, whatcha up to?” He asked, confused, and Virgil froze. “I mean, I’m cool with you watching me write, I just didn’t think you’d be interested in it.” He clarified, and Virgil relaxed somewhat, shrugging noncommittally. “Alright, it’s up to you.” He said, turning back to his computer. He was concerned, but was there he could do? Virgil obviously wouldn’t trust him so soon, so he supposed he’d just follow what Virgil chose for now.

Virgil watched him start typing and immediately heaved a silent sigh of relief, zoning out instantly. His mind was thousands of miles away before Roman had even finished his first sentence, completely losing track of everything around him. A dangerous venture, considering he still didn’t entirely know them, but he was sure he’d be able to come back to reality the moment he needed to.

He hoped, at least.

Roman typed for hours, pausing every now and then to check his phone, see if there were any updates. His mind began to wander. Was this what Virgil had felt, waiting for updates from him? His life had been in danger and Roman hadn’t even bothered to reach out, had only explained when Virgil had forced him to answer.

Another wave of guilt washed over him as his eyes flickered to the kid still standing against the wall, eyes miles away. This is what he got. He hadn’t reached out to Virgil, and look what happened! Who knew if Virgil would ever be back to his regular self? He’d already lost his memory once, what if, this time, it was permanent? The damage from the previous memory loss mixed with the fact that it was the same person - and to make it even worse, they had probably improved on it too, since they’d had a while to work on it. 

He tried to focus on the screen, but he found he couldn’t. His eyes kept flickering back to Virgil, his mind no longer in the place to write his fantastical adventure. He only grew more concerned as time went on, not only for the wellbeing of Virgil, but for the kid, too. Kid Virgil, or whatever he was. His eyes were so distant, any emotion gone from his face, but in a different way than he’d seen before.

Usually he was distant and cold,  _ refusing  _ to show any emotion, but now… he looked far away, and there wasn’t a purposeful barrier between emotions. He looked like he simply lacked them, like they’d been stripped away. He didn’t want to upset him, didn’t want to worry him more if he really was fine, but he couldn’t help but grow worried.

Eventually he gave up on writing, shutting down the computer and grabbing his phone. Instantly upon him standing up Virgil snapped to attention, his eyes darting around frantically as he took in his surroundings. He relaxed after a moment, having seemingly just come back to the present - or was it technically the past, or even the future, for him? - but there was still some of that nervousness, clear though he tried to hide it.

Roman gave him a tired smile, making his way back to the kitchen. He supposed grabbing a late night snack couldn’t hurt, could it? They’d already had dinner, though they for once hadn’t all sat down to eat, watching the movie as they ate. 

Virgil followed diligently after him, and Roman would’ve felt creeped out, if it weren’t for the fearful expression on Virgil’s face. It was almost as though he thought  _ Roman  _ would keep him safe, and the thought only made him feel worse. If only he knew…

But no. He wouldn’t bring up painful memories he hadn’t experienced yet just to take away the small amount of safety he had. He refused to take that away from him, even if the security was misplaced. So they made their way through the house, the dim lights only adding to the slightly worrying mood, until they found themselves in the kitchen.

Roman only hoped that one day he would truly earn that sense of security that Virgil had entrusted in him, but he brushed the thought away. Until he could make up for his past mistakes, it was selfish of him to think so. It wasn’t about  _ him,  _ not when he’d done something so awful. Feeling sorry for himself didn’t take away from what he’d done, and he certainly didn’t deserve sympathy or pity for the guilt he felt. He deserved it, in the most literal sense.

If only he could convince his heart to stop longing for things that it wasn’t fair to hope for. 


	34. A Late Night Snack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I may or may not have accidentally re-sparked my interest in this fic again so *laughs nervously* yeah...

He sighed to himself, rummaging through the cabinets. He knew Virgil kept the place stocked full of snacks, so finding something he liked wasn’t a problem. However, finding something that Virgil wouldn’t be mad at him for eating - once he was back to normal - was a slightly more difficult challenge.

He finally decided on just a plain bag of chips, and when he took a step back from the cabinet he realized Virgil was still watching him, wide eyes that he quickly turned away giving away his thoughts. Roman frowned, dread settling in the pit of his stomach. Just how much had Virgil been fed as a kid?

Based on how loosely the small clothes fit - smaller even than Liam’s, who was already on the skinny side - he had to say it wasn’t nearly often enough. He got out a bowl and poured himself some, then handed the bag to Virgil, who looked up at him with surprise and confusion.

“Have as many as you want.” He said, and Virgil hesitated, glancing down at the bag. 

“But… it’s 1 am.” He said quietly, but Roman could hear the truthful unspoken reason behind his words. His gaze softened.

“Yeah, and I’m eating. Look,” He said, glancing at the cabinet “Knock yourself out. Anything in this house is fine for you to eat, okay?” He said, and Virgil gave him a suspicious look.

“Then why did you look like you weren’t allowed to have certain things?” He asked, and Roman paused; he hadn’t expected Virgil to pick up on that. 

“That’s because I’m not one of the kids.” He said with a smile. “I have to be ‘responsible’ and ‘eat what I’m supposed to’ and all that jazz.” He said, and it was only a partial lie. Logan was the only one who really cared about that, but currently Logan was the only adult that knew what he was doing, so his rules went. Virgil nodded, still hesitant, but he seemed to trust Roman for some unknown reason. 

“You promise I won’t get in trouble?” He asked, and Roman almost felt like laughing, if it weren’t for the serious implications of the situation. Virgil felt unsure if he was allowed to eat  _ his own food,  _ in his own house. Though, given the situation, that probably wasn’t all that new to him. The fact that he had to triple check if he was allowed to  _ eat,  _ even when assured he was, it made Roman feel sick.

If he ever found out who Virgil’s parents were, well, let’s just say the meeting wouldn’t exactly be kind.

Virgil gave him one last unsure glance before walking carefully over to the cabinet, peeking inside, only to freeze, shock practically radiating off of him. Roman winced. From what he could tell, Virgil, at this point in time at least, had never had access to this much food at once, let alone been allowed to have whatever he wanted from it

He started off small, grabbing a bag of chips and a granola bar, almost testing the limits, seeing if he was allowed more. Then, when Roman didn’t stop him, he went back in, taking a bar of chocolate. Roman gave him a thumbs up, smiling. So, once he finished that, he checked more. The cabinet was nearly as wide as it was tall, which was to say, it was  _ huge.  _

Granted, there was barely anything on the higher up shelves, just for the sake of convenience, but there were a few out of Virgil’s reach. Roman went to grab the candy for him, but without a moment’s hesitation Virgil unveiled his wings, taking off lightly to grab the entire bag, landing so gently Roman wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been watching.

Virgil rested for a moment, an almost impossibly wide grin on his face, before his eyes flickered up to meet Roman’s. Instantly the joy left him, hiding his wings immediately as worry came to his face.

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask if I could have this and I know I’m not supposed to fly in the house or  _ to even have wings I’ _ **_m sorry-_ ** _ ”  _ He rushed out, and Roman held up a hand, trying to calm him.

Which was decidedly the wrong thing to do, as Virgil flinched back, dropping the bag of candy as he stumbled back, knocking Roman’s plate to the floor from where it had sat on the counter. The sound of shattering glass echoed for a moment in the otherwise empty kitchen, and Virgil froze, sheer terror in his eyes. His breath caught and Roman could see the signs a mile away.

As much as it pained him to do it, he took a deep breath, steeling himself. 

“Virgil.” He said, his tone serious and curt. Virgil’s eyes snapped up to meet his, and he began to shake. “I need you to focus, okay?” Virgil nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. “Can you list 5 things that you can see?” Virgil’s eyes began darting around.

“U-uh, the chips, counter, y-you, bag, and” He glanced down, only to hunch in on himself more “p-plate.” He said nervously, and Roman nodded. 

“Okay, you’re doing good. Now, 4 things you can feel?” Virgil’s hands instinctively went to the jacket which he now wore wrapped around his waist.

“Jacket, hair,” He reached out blindly, trying to answer Roman. “Counter, clothes?” He asked tentatively, and Roman gave a gentle smile.

“Good. Three things you can hear?” He asked, and Virgil stopped, listening.

“The ceiling fan, breathing…. me?” He said, though it came out as more of a question. Roman nodded.

“Two things you can smell?” Virgil scrunched up his nose, and under different circumstances Roman would’ve said it was adorable.

“Chips… and air?” Roman smiled.

“Almost done. Now one thing you can taste?” He asked, and Virgil let out a deep breath. 

“Chocolate.” He said, visibly more relaxed.

“You did great, Virge.” He said, and Virgil gave him a hesitant smile.

“I did?” He asked, and Roman nodded.

“You did. It’s okay, we have plenty more plates.” Virgil smiled nervously, a disbelieving look in his eyes. “And don’t worry about your wings, okay? You’re not going to get in trouble for them.” Virgil looked down, looking ashamed. “If you want, I can pretend I never saw them. Erased from my memory.” He said, but Virgil shook his head.

“No, I just… you’re sure I won’t get in trouble?” He asked, his voice quiet. Roman nodded.

“I’m sure. We just want to make sure you’re safe. And… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my hand like that, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said, and Virgil glanced up at him, confused.

Footsteps approached fast and soon a maid came by, looking startled. Luckily, the staff at this particular mansion all knew that he was Anxiety, even if Virgil hadn’t explicitly told them. They weren’t telling anyone though, the pay was  _ way  _ too good, and besides, what did it matter to them? So all of them knew what had happened to Virgil, and didn’t question it at this point.

She just came in, cleaned up the broken plate, smiled sweetly at Virgil, and disappeared again, leaving a grateful Roman and a  _ very  _ confused Virgil. He knew about the staff, of course, but why would they like  _ him?  _ Wasn’t he just another kid that caused problems and made their jobs harder? Of course, not that the other kids were like that, they seemed so kind, but why didn’t they think he was a problem?

Why wasn’t he considered a problem child here?

Roman stooped down, picking up the bag of candy that was still on the floor, offering it to Virgil. 

“You still gonna eat this, or can I have the whole bag?” He asked jokingly, a playful smile on his face. It took Virgil a second, but for once he recognized the joke for what it was, and he smiled, a playful gleam in his eyes.

“ _ Maybe  _ we can share it.” He said, and Roman let out a laugh.

Yeah, maybe things  _ would  _ be okay.


	35. Excited Explanations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! :D

They ended up staying up until 4 am, and while Roman was glad that Virgil was getting food and becoming more comfortable with him, the last time he’d been awake this early was when Virgil had woken him up for the phone call, so needless to say he was  _ very  _ tired. Virgil, to his credit, seemed to realize this and not only toned down his own energy but suggested the Roman get some rest, though he immediately panicked and apologized for being pushy.

Roman agreed to get some sleep only if Virgil, at the very least,  _ tried  _ to get some as well, though he knew Virgil probably wouldn’t be able to fall asleep for another few hours. He agreed, and they both went off to bed, with completely different levels of energy.

Roman fell asleep practically the second he hit the pillow, while Virgil didn’t get any actual sleep until way after the sun began to rise, and even then it took him a while to actually get tired, though once his energy was gone he was out like a light. 

Roman was surprised at how much energy he had when he woke up, and he panickedly checked the time, only to find it was 8 am. Most of the kids were just waking up, he hadn’t accidentally abandoned them. So why did he feel like he’d gotten a full night’s rest with only 4 hours? 

He checked his phone, sitting up, and he sighed upon seeing he got a text from Logan.

Don’t do that again, you should go to bed at a reasonable time, and the children require optimal rest as well. He rolled his eyes.

_ Yeah, yeah. How did you even know I stayed up? You weren’t here.  _ He asked, setting his phone down as he got dressed. By the time he was finished he’d gotten two more texts.

Virgil told me when I asked how his night was, and he panicked that he’d get in trouble. He says you did good at helping him calm down.

And I gave you extra energy because you’re still their primary caretaker, you can’t just function on 4 hours of sleep with 6 kids in your care. Oh, so that was how. Of course. Though he supposed he was somewhat grateful. He groaned, making his way out of the bedroom, stepping into the hallway.

He was surprised to find Virgil waiting for him.

“Logan said you were awake.” He said by way of explanation. Roman nodded, that made as much sense as he expected. 

“What’s up?” He asked, and Virgil shifted nervously.

“You three are heroes, right? With powers?” He asked, and Roman paused. He nodded slowly, a cautious look on his face. “What powers do you guys have?” He asked, and Roman’s eyes widened.

“Oh, that. Well, I can tell you mine, but I think it’s easier if the others explain theirs, since they know how their abilities work better than anyone else.” He said, trying to be the reasonable one for once. Virgil smiled, a bright look in his eyes, and he grabbed Roman’s hand, dragging him through the hallways. 

He only stopped when he reached the kitchen they were in last night - hours ago, really - where he found Patton and Logan. Roman’s eyes widened as he looked at them in concern. He raised an eyebrow and Logan sighed.

“I’m only here because there’s pertinent information I need to share. Patton, however, is here to stay today, to make sure everything’s going okay.” Roman nodded, they obviously couldn’t discuss it in  _ front  _ of Virgil. 

“Alright. Virgil has a question though.” He said, and Virgil beamed. Roman smiled, trying to hide the pang of guilt he felt. When was the last time he’d seen Virgil so openly and genuinely happy? 

“What are your powers?” He asked excitedly, and they blinked in surprise. He turned to Roman expectantly, and he paused, gathering his thoughts.

“I guess I’ll go first? I have creation, which is exactly what it sounds like.” He created an apple in his hand to demonstrate, quickly dissipating it. “I’m also pyrokinetic, which just means I can create fire.” He let sparks dance along his fingertips and Virgil ‘ooh’d, an enthralled expression on his face. Roman smiled uncomfortably. “Then I have 2 really similar powers, state manipulation and matter manipulation. One is being able to change the state of an object, you know, liquid, solid, gas, plasma. Like,” He turned the sink on and changed the water coming from the faucet to vapor, then to ice. 

“What’s matter manipulation then?” He asked, looking eager to learn. Logan looked like he was silently taking notes on Virgil’s reaction, which Roman was slightly creeped out by, but he didn’t comment. 

“It’s kind of like telekinesis - moving things with your mind - but instead of moving things I’m manipulating their particles? I don’t really know the science behind it but it’s like moving the atoms around and making them do what I want, which means I can break apart bonds and stuff.” He paused “Sorry, that’s probably too sciencey for you.” He said, but Virgil shook his head.

“Are you kidding? Science is my favorite subject! Well, besides art.” He said, and Roman stared. Just how much about Virgil did he not know?

“Cool.” He said, unsure of how else to respond. “And then my final ability is shapeshifting, though I very rarely use it.” He changed his nails into claws, then back. Virgil looked put off by that, but his smile didn’t drop. “Like I said, the last time I remember using it was like a year ago… It’s useful, but it takes way too much energy to be effective most of the time, and it takes too much concentration to really do in the middle of battle.” He said, and Virgil nodded, looking reassured.

“I’ll go next!” Patton said excitedly. Virgil turned to him, smiling brightly. “To start, I can create shields out of pure energy.” He demonstrated it, a faint blue glow lighting up the room. Virgil looked on in awe. “I can also make electricity” Sparks dance on his fingertips, similar to the way Roman’s had, but this time distinctly different, looking more dangerous and cold. He rose into the air for a moment, before dropping back down. “I can fly, even though I don’t have wings, which is nice. And the other two I can’t really show you.” He said sadly. Virgil tilted his head to the side, a curious expression on his face.

“How come?” He asked. Patton gave a noncommittal shrug.

“Well I can heal people, but - as far as I’m aware - no one’s injured right now.” He said, giving them all pointed looks. They all shook their heads. “And I’m also an empath, meaning I can sense other people’s emotions.” He said, and suddenly Virgil looked very nervous. If Patton could feel whatever he felt, then he knew how scared he was, even when he tried to hide it. He had to find a way to fight that.

“And what about you?” He asked, turning to Logan. He sighed, slowly taking out his wings.

“I have wings, as you can see.” He said and Virgil stopped, his eyes widening. Logan sighed internally, waiting to be mocked for them, especially when Virgil gasped.

“Those are so cool!” He said excitedly, genuine joy in his eyes. Logan paused, taken-aback. “Seriously, I wished mine looked like that! That’s awesome!” Logan didn’t know how to handle the compliment. Adults were more likely to lie to you when they didn’t like something, but not only was this a seemingly genuine compliment from a  _ kid,  _ but he could tell he wasn’t lying. He gave a small smile, unsure of himself.

“Thank you.” Still, he drew his wings back in, feeling self-conscious. “I can create explosions, which I will  _ not  _ demonstrate for you.” He said sternly, and Virgil grinned, nodding. “I also have energy manipulation, which is actually a very varied ability. I can change the amount of energy in particles, I can charge a battery, I can even make someone feel more energetic, though the larger the amount of energy, the larger the toll it takes on me, so I don’t use it all that often.” He explained, and if he had to be honest, he was absolutely  _ thriving  _ under the positive attention he was receiving from Virgil. He’d have to ask him about science sometime, after they changed him back. He hadn’t known it was a topic he loved so much.

“And what about the other three?” He asked after a moment of silence. Logan winced, and Virgil immediately felt guilty. “Or however many you have, I have six so I understand if it isn’t the normal.” He said, trying to make up for it. Logan gave him an appreciative grin, but didn’t comment on it.

“Well the next one, the best way I can describe it is making phrases real. It’s hard to demonstrate, and only works in specific situations, but if there’s a common phrase that’s used metaphorically, I can make it literal.” Virgil thought for a moment before nodding. 

“Makes sense.” He said, and Logan smiled. 

“And then my last ability is that I can perceive lies, so if I use it I can tell when someone is lying. I’m not constantly using it, so sometimes they slip past me, but I’ve also gotten better at recognizing when someone is  _ telling  _ a lie, so I know to test whether it is or not.” He said, and Virgil grinned.

Internally, he was freaking out, but he knew how to play this game. Granted, none of the people he’d been with could supernaturally detect lies, but some of them had been  _ extraordinarily  _ good at it. He could play the part. He didn’t stiffen, didn’t react, kept his same enthusiasm, and Logan didn’t test it. What reason did he have to suspect the joy was ingenuine?

Patton was wary. Something felt off about the emotions he was showing, like the smile on his face was forced, but when he sensed his emotions it felt real. How could he project something so accurately if it wasn’t true?

Oh.

_ Oh no. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)   
> Don't worry, another update should be up in a few minutes


	36. Less Enthused Reveals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told ya :D

That was it. 

Virgil was  _ projecting  _ his emotions, out into the realm that no one except people with very specific powers could access. There was a whole other level of energy, one that was invisible to most. Being an empath didn’t grant him the ability to just read minds in an emotional sense, it allowed him to see into the realm that so few could access.

There were many small variations when it came to being an empath, it was why his and Adara’s powers worked slightly differently. Some people could actually see the emotional energy radiating off of people, some people could feel the auras, some people could only pick up on what the specific feelings were, and considering it was already such a rare skill, finding someone else with the exact branch as yourself was nearly impossible.

Some people had the rare skill of projecting a false aura over the one they gave off naturally, though a minuscule percentage of them actually realized they had this ability. It usually developed due to trauma, so there wasn’t really a way to test it. Patton couldn’t see nor sense people’s auras, but he could pick up on the different signals inside them.

He was getting the signals from the false aura Virgil was projecting, thus creating this odd feeling of it being false. He was at an advantage actually, as being able to see or even sense the actual projection would’ve made it  _ feel  _ real, but picking up on only the loose threads and unfinished signals allowed him to realize it  **wasn’t** real.

Virgil clearly didn’t know he could do this, otherwise he would’ve been doing it constantly. He knew Virgil especially didn’t want Adara knowing about half of the emotions he felt, so if he knew he could block it out he would’ve been doing it practically 24/7, even if it was unhealthy.

But here, he was reacting on instinct. A clear response to trauma, where he put on a mask, acted his part and played along. His smiles seemed so genuine, almost a perfect copy of those he had displayed moments before, but something about them was off, in a way barely anyone noticed.

Barely anyone paid attention, so who would be looking  _ so  _ closely as to see the cracks in the facade? He wasn’t just putting on a fake smile or pretending to be okay, he was projecting false emotions on a supernatural level, a level that a good majority of people didn’t even know existed.

He could only hope that Virgil’s trauma after this point in time hadn’t gotten much more severe, or he would wonder how he’d ever managed to survive to 18, much less his current age. 

Still, Virgil grinned, looking as excited as ever, and Logan smiled back, happy that he had made Virgil happy. Patton couldn’t say anything, but soon Virgil disappeared to find the other kids, and even then they had important matters to discuss.

“Alright, what is it?” Roman said, dropping his smile the second Virgil left the room. He was genuinely happy to see Virgil so excited, but he was more worried about whatever news Logan had.

“I - I mean, we,” He corrected himself, and Patton was surprised. He didn’t particularly mind Logan taking the credit for this one, especially as he’d done most of the sciencey-research. “Discovered  _ why  _ he’s a kid, specifically at this age. It wasn’t their ability, just like their escape wasn’t.” He said, and Roman waited. When Logan didn’t continue he sighed in exasperation.

“So? What  _ was it  _ then?” He said, trying his best not to get too angry. He was just anxious, he supposed that made him aggressive.

Oh. No wonder Virgil had been so harsh to him.

He brushed the thought aside, listening to Logan. “It was a potion.” His eyes widened, and Logan sighed. “Technically they’re not possible to make on your own, but suppose they're working with someone, whose ability is to be able to make potions, well then… we’re screwed.” He said, and Patton elbowed him. 

“They had two potions that, upon contact, went into effect. That’s what the smoke was, they shattered their containers on the ground, and the effects took hold. One was similar to teleporting, with a place already determined, and the other, well…” He trailed off, looking to Logan. He gave a worried sigh, adjusting his tie.

“It wasn’t meant to make him this old. I managed to get a DNA sample from Virgil-” At the pointed look Roman gave him he glared “I didn’t do anything to him, you heathen. Hairs fall out all the time, I was able to find one and examine it.” Roman was still giving him a look and he sighed. “Look, I don’t like it much more than you do, but I had no choice, Virgil’s life could be in danger and we need to figure out  _ why  _ and fast, okay?!” He exclaimed, and Roman sighed.

“Just tell me what you found.” He said, and Logan let out a huff.

“The aging effects were supposed to take him back 21, 22 years, which would be strangely specific, if Patton hadn’t told me what they might’ve been trying to do.” He sighed, looking up at Roman. “They were trying to turn Virgil into an infant, but they miscalculated his age. They probably figured he was around our age, maybe a little younger, depending on exactly how old they were trying to make him. But since he’s actually a good few years older than us, instead we get him now, 12 years old instead.” He said, and Roman’s worry increased.

“Why would they want to make him so young?” He asked, and Patton winced.

“Quite a few reasons, actually. One, the smaller the child, the easier it is to… eliminate them.” He said quietly, feeling ashamed. Roman’s eyes widened, horror coursing through him. “And they probably assumed we wouldn’t be able to care for an infant, meaning we’d end up giving him up for adoption or something, since it would be impossible to tell who he was, making him easier to get to. Which would also take us out of the picture, leaving him with no protection. And those are only the reasons that I can think of, and I’m not the best at thinking like a villain.” He said, and Roman felt panicked. What were they supposed to do?

“There is good news though.” Logan said, and Roman glanced up.

“And what would that be?” He asked.

“Because they miscalculated on his age, they also didn’t have the right proportions in ingredients, or however they made them. Meaning this isn’t permanent. We still don’t know exactly how long it’s going to be, but I can say with certainty that it will be less than 6 months.” He said, and Roman sighed.

“Great, because that narrows it down  _ so  _ much.” He said sarcastically. Logan glared.

“Actually, it does. It means that we know we won’t have to change him back on our own, just wait it out. And we know that not permanent doesn’t just mean ‘until he dies’ or years to decades in the future. And we know it’s less than a year as well, so we don’t have to plan long-term, at least not yet. Plus, since it’s so random, it could happen in a few minutes, or it could happen in 5 months. Meaning that it doesn’t have to be an amount of time that “makes sense”, because they did it wrong.” He said, and Roman sighed, dragging his hands down his face.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. It just-” He met their eyes with a pained look. “It’s all so uncertain, and he’s not only in danger, but almost completely  _ helpless  _ against it. I don’t like this one bit.” He said, his voice strained. Patton nodded sympathetically.

“I get it, trust me Roman, I do. But right now we need to be focused on what’s best for the kids. We need to be strong for them.” He said gently. Roman groaned, nodding.

“I know.” He said, and with that Logan nodded.

“That’s all we have so far. Patton’s going to be spending the rest of the day with you, and I need to head back over. It was imperative that I told you in person.” He said, walking away without another word. Roman sighed, before shooting Patton a tired smile.

“Don’t worry, we’re in this together.” He said, and Roman nodded.

They would do it together.


	37. Trust Is A Fragile Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me rereading my own writing: ow

Lillith was the next person to see Virgil, to her surprise. She was making use of one of the art rooms, trying her best to make something with oil pastels, when Virgil crept in. She didn’t notice him at first, too focused on her own work, and even when she accidentally lost focus, paying way too much attention to every little sound she heard, she still didn’t hear him.

At least, not until he was a foot away from her, a timid look on his face. He waved gently and she jumped back, holding her hand to her chest in surprise. She looked up, meeting his eyes, and he lowered his head, looking at her apologetically.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” He said quietly, and she shook her head, smiling.

“No, it’s alright, I just didn’t notice you. What’s up?” He glanced around, a nervous look in his eyes.

“Am I… am I allowed to use these art supplies?” He said, growing unsure of himself. She nodded heartily.

“Of course! You can use pretty much anything in this house, unless explicitly told otherwise.” She said happily. He glanced at her, disbelief clear in his expression. 

“Okay.” Was all he said, and he set about the room, collecting supplies and sitting down at a table not too far from hers. 

They worked in near silence for around two hours, before he finally stood up, examining his work. He wasn’t all too proud of it, and he was sure it could use some work and touch ups, but he stood back, trying to view it from a proper angle. He used one of the miniature easels to prop it up, and he frowned. It looked okay, but he was growing more uncertain of it by the minute.

He had used entirely colored pencils, though they were high quality, rather than the way too waxy Crayola ones school gave out, and while it wasn’t his best work, in his opinion, he thought it looked good. Or at least, he had, while he was working on it, but now, he couldn’t tell. Lillith noticed his distress and set her pastels down, trying to catch a glimpse of it.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, and he jumped back, panic clear in his eyes. He took a moment to calm down, trying to get his breathing back to normal. “Sorry.” He waved it off. 

“I just,” He bit his lip “I can’t tell if I’m just doubting myself or if it really is horrible.” He said honestly. She frowned, standing up.

“I can tell you what I think of it, if you’re okay with that.” She offered, her voice light and undemanding. He glanced at her, steeling himself for a moment before nodding.

“Okay. Yeah, I’d like that.” He said, so she made her way over, getting her first glimpse of what it looked like.

When she stood back to see it fully she couldn’t believe her eyes. While it wasn’t necessarily a masterpiece, she could barely believe that he’d actually made it, especially considering his current age. It was wonderfully shaded, the colors matched quite well, but more importantly, he got everyone’s expressions near perfectly.

It was of them, on the couch from last night. He even managed to get their positions right, capturing the moment in all its beauty. She smiled, looking to Virgil fondly. Even if he didn’t remember all of this, whenever he was himself again, she knew they’d all treasure this for years to come. 

“It looks amazing. You did really well.” She said, and he glanced up at her, nervous and disbelieving, but hope in his eyes.

“You really think so?” She nodded.

“Of course. You’re really good at drawing.” She said, and he practically melted. It was the first time he’d received a genuine compliment for his work, and he knew he’d remember it forever. He saved that serotonin for a rainy day.

He ended up leaving soon after that, stashing away the drawing (carefully) under his pillow in the room he was staying. He was hesitant to call it his room, he hadn’t been there long enough to know if they really wanted him or were just faking it, but even if he was forced out he knew it would be his most treasured possession.

He ran into Kennedy next, quite literally. They both rushed around the corner too fast to notice the other, slamming into each other and falling to the ground. Kennedy just grinned to themself, but Virgil immediately panicked, bolting to his feet and offering them his hand.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to are you okay I’m sorry sorry  _ sorry-”  _ He rushed out. Kennedy just shook their head, taking his hand.

“Nah, it’s cool. I’m not hurt, don’t worry about it.” Virgil drew back his hand, guilt still clear on his face. “It happens, it’s nothing to be sorry for.” They said, and he frowned.

“Okay.” He said, still unsure but too afraid to argue. Kennedy gave him a smile and continued on their way. 

Virgil took a moment to recover before continuing towards the kitchen. He’d had a lot to eat last night, but he’d skipped breakfast - on accident, for once, rather than trying to avoid people - and now it was nearing noon and he’d had nothing to eat. He timidly stepped into the kitchen, glancing around.

No one was there, which was strange. He figured he would’ve run into either Roman or Patton by now, but he supposed it was a rather large house, and there were other children they had to deal with. It was strange, none of the three seemed like the actual ‘parent’ of the family, but he’d overheard the other kids discussing their dad, whoever he was. Perhaps he was away on business? They always talked away from him, for some reason, but he still heard because of his hearing. He felt guilty, but there wasn’t much he could do.

He ignored the thought, silently making his way over to the cabinet. Even though Roman had assured him that it was alright he still wasn’t sure, it was better for him to sneak the food than to get caught eating something he wasn’t supposed to.

It was one of the benefits of having a completely oversized jacket; if he zipped it up he could hide a boatload of snacks, not making a sound as he made his way back to the room he was staying in. He paused, looking around. No one was there, they wouldn’t see it, would they?

He supposed it was less risky than trying to sneak all the way back.

He sighed, concentrating for a moment, and in the blink of an eye he was gone, only a shadow left in his place. He crept along the floor, slow at first, then gaining speed as he realized he made no sound. He slipped past Liam and Mara, playing a video game against each other, and soon he was back safely in the bedroom.

Instantly he sighed in relief, unzipping his jacket and dumping all of the food on the bed. He ate quickly, constantly afraid someone would walk in, and he dumped all his trash in the bin, thankful there was one in the room and he didn’t have to sneak back out. He sat back on the bed, leaning against the wall.

How much longer would he have to live like this? How much longer would he have to sneak around? To be constantly afraid of every movement? Of every shift in tone? How long would he have to live in overwhelming fear? How long until he could sit still without panicking?

How much longer until they finally kicked him out? 

He was surprised he’d lasted so long, considering how many mistakes he’d made already. Usually he was more careful, wouldn’t have ruined his chances so soon, but the way they’d found him had thrown him off, he hadn’t had time to prepare.

He still didn’t understand how he’d ended up in that cave, but he supposed it didn’t matter. He couldn’t believe they hadn’t shouted at him yet, hadn’t told him off, scolded him or told him he should be grateful for them. He just couldn’t figure out why.

Did they want to hurt him more? Build up his trust first? Let him believe he was safe before ripping that away from him? Or did they… genuinely care? He dismissed the thought quickly, he didn’t dare hope. He couldn’t expect that of them, especially after so little time. 

He sighed to himself. Might as well go find someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah idk when I'll get a bunch of motivation like this again so I'm posting a few more chapters now while I can


	38. Mistakes Are Made

Adara was just hanging out in one of the dining rooms, taking advantage of the large amount of table space to work on the project she was missing. Patton had called the five of them out of school for the time being, at least until they figured everything out, claiming there was a family emergency - which wasn’t entirely a lie, but the implications were slightly different than the reality of the situation. She didn’t want to fall behind, even if she dreaded the schoolwork, but this was at least for a class she liked.

Virgil walked in and gave her a small smile, waving as he sat down. The company was better than sitting alone in the room, even if they remained silent for the most part. He simply sat, zoning out once more as she finished her work.

When she was finally done she let out a sigh, sitting back. She was decidedly  _ not  _ doing that again, even if she had another project due soon. She could deal with it later. Virgil’s eyes snapped back into focus, becoming suddenly aware of his surroundings again. He sighed in relief as he saw it was just her, he didn’t have to worry about anyone else questioning his habits.

“Hey, kiddos.” Patton said, walking in, and Virgil sighed internally. At least he hadn’t seen it. “Whatcha up to?” He asked, glancing between them. Adara sighed, sparing Virgil from the attention. 

“I just finished a big project,  _ finally.”  _ She said, and Patton’s eyes slid over to Virgil, a questioning look on his face. “He kept me company, it was way too boring on my own.” She said calmly, and he nodded. Virgil smiled at her gratefully, before standing up. He probably should leave, why would she want him around? Especially when she had someone else to talk to now.

“So,” Patton said, and Virgil paused, looking to him with half-concealed worry. “What exciting adventures do you guys want to go on?” He asked, and he received a blank stare from the both of them. He sighed, giving a silly grin. “Come on, don’t you want to do something  **wild** ?” He asked, gesturing widely. He made one mistake though.

His hand flailed just a  _ little  _ too close to Virgil. And Virgil, the deadly, powerhouse villain Anxiety, the man who had showed no fear even in the face of certain death, Virgil, who had even now, in this state, refused to show fear unless he was completely panicking - who concealed that fear to a level that even he wasn’t aware of - the person who had single-handedly taken down  _ hundreds  _ of people with ease,

Virgil  _ flinched. _

His body hunched in on itself, simultaneously sending him flying back in panic as terror flashed in his eyes, his hands coming up to protect him from an oncoming blow that would never hit. His eyes were pressed shut, and he shook, trembling yet not moving, like he didn’t feel safe enough to run.

There was a moment of stunned silence, no one said a word, and Adara glanced at Patton, then back at Virgil, horrified. She didn’t know everything her dad had been through, but she knew enough, and she could put the pieces together. Couldn’t Patton see the signs? Why wasn’t he more careful?

“Kiddo,” Patton said softly, his voice heartbroken. Virgil pried his eyes open, slowly lowering his arms. He saw the expression on Patton’s face and winced, taking a step back. “Why are you afraid of us?” He asked, and it felt like a knife in Virgil’s heart.

How was he supposed to explain? How was he supposed to tell them that because of his past, he knew what a  _ literal  _ knife in the heart felt like? How could he explain everything that had happened? There were so many reasons,  _ so many,  _ how could he just ask that like it was a simple question?

“I-” He let out a pained noise, words failing him. He couldn’t explain, couldn’t  _ begin  _ to tell the reason. How could he? “no, I can’t-” Patton grew more concerned, a confused look on his face. 

“Why don’t you trust us?” He asked, an almost hurt tone to his voice. Virgil pressed his hands to his head, trying to block it out. He couldn’t, he just  _ couldn’t.  _ His eyes were shut tight as he hunched over himself, slowly backing away in panic. Patton went to reach out, not understanding, when Adara stood up.

“No!” She shouted suddenly, the screech of her chair echoing in the suddenly silent room. Patton whipped around to face her while Virgil flinched back. “You don’t just get to demand that from him!” She said, quieting her tone but still remaining forceful. She didn’t want to upset Virgil more, after all. “You aren’t entitled to learn his trauma, and you can’t just force him to explain it to you.”

“You aren’t owed an explanation for why he acts the way he acts, and you don’t get to order him around because  _ you  _ don’t understand. Even more so when he’s breaking down like this. And  **_especially_ ** after all you’ve done!” She growled out, and Patton took a step back, feeling ashamed. He hadn’t meant to hurt anyone, but he’d overstepped boundaries, and Adara was right.

He had no right to demand that of Virgil, no matter what his reasoning was.

“I’m sorry.” He said quietly, looking down. Virgil glanced up, his eyes cracking open.

He- he meant it? There was no reason that someone would act  _ so  _ ashamed, so genuinely upset at themselves if they were just faking an apology to make him feel bad. They always smiled to themselves, even if they could hide it well, there was always that glint in their eyes. But this time there was none. 

Why did he still not trust it?

He shook his head, shifting to shadow and fleeing the room, leaving two worried people left to wonder what there was that they could do. 


	39. Rebuilding Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some wholesome to compensate

He avoided everyone for a few hours after that, hiding in the bedroom and getting lost in a book. He was surprised they had a library in the house, and even more surprised when it turned out they had his favorite book. He curled the almost luxurious blankets around himself, hiding away in a burrito of protection.

It wasn’t until the sun began to set that he emerged, peeking around nervously. Had he upset them? No one had come in to check on him, did that mean they were mad at him or letting him have his space? It was impossible to tell, not until he saw them again, and he wasn’t exactly gonna go out of his way to find them. 

Roman was in one of the living rooms, and, to his surprise, Mara was in his arms, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out but a playful look in her eyes. He paused, unsure if he was intruding, when Liam noticed him and waved him over.

“We’re seeing how strong Roman is by having him carry all of us.” He explained, and Virgil noticed that Lillith, Kennedy, and Adara all sat on the couch, waiting their turns.

“If he can carry each of us separately we’ll have him carry all of us at once.” Lillith said, and Roman sighed as though annoyed, though the smile on his face said otherwise. 

“I may be strong, but I doubt I’ll be able to do  _ that _ .” He said, and Adara grinned.

“Which is why we want to see you try.” He rolled his eyes, setting Mara down.

“Me next!” Liam said, throwing himself at Roman without any more warning. Roman stumbled back, barely managing to catch Liam without falling, but he steadied himself after a moment. 

“Warn a dude next time.” He said, but his smile returned. Liam laughed, and Roman ‘accidentally’ dropped him.

Virgil didn’t understand why that made him so irrationally angry.

“I guess I’m next.” Lillith said quietly, stepping forwards. Roman lifted her off the ground with relative ease, and she smirked. She licked her finger and stuck it in his ear before jumping out of his arms, vaulting over the couch and disappearing behind it.

“Gah!” Roman shouted, jerking away. He made a face. “Really? A wet willy? So mature of you.” He said, and the only response was a quiet giggle from behind the couch.

“I already know you can carry me.” Adara said pointedly, her smile genuine but slight malice hidden behind the words. Virgil could tell there was some history behind that, but he didn’t ask.

“How?” Roman asked, confused. She raised an eyebrow.

“From you-know-when? When I first discovered my wings?” She said, and Roman’s eyes widened, guilt flashing across his face for a brief moment, though he tried to hide it. Virgil frowned to himself. There was something going on that they wouldn’t tell him, but what was it? What secret could they be hiding?

“Ohhh.” He said, giving her an apologetic look. She sighed, rolling her eyes. He didn’t get _ any  _ warning before she jumped into his arms. He didn’t comment this time, and she grinned.

“Told ya.” She hopped out of his arms. Kennedy rolled their eyes, grabbing Roman’s arms and hoisting themself up, sitting upright unlike everyone else, who he’d carried bridal style.

“Welp. I mean I was kinda expecting this.” They said, and Roman smiled.

“I mean, you are the lightest one.” Kennedy gasped in mock offense, rolling out of his arms. They laughed though, and Roman smiled in relief. Suddenly the attention was on Virgil and he didn’t know what to do.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Mara said, but he could see the expectant looks on their faces. He sighed internally, stepping forwards.

“It’s fine.” He let Roman lift him off the ground, not trusting himself enough to jump. It was a strange feeling - he’d never been carried before, but for once he didn’t feel unsafe.

It was strangely comforting, remaining off the ground, not having to worry about whether or not he’d fall, not having to doubt his own ability to stay in the air. And it went without saying that he hadn’t received much physical affection either, so he was silently reveling in the touch. 

Eventually he was set down, and they all stepped forwards. “One at a time.” Roman said cautiously, but they didn’t care. Mara jumped at him, as did Liam, and he managed to catch them both, though he wobbled. Each of them rested on one arm, and Adara used her wings to hover in the air for a moment, before draping herself dramatically across their laps. Roman’s arms wavered for a moment as he adjusted to the weight, but he said nothing.

Kennedy got behind him and hoisted themself up again, sitting backwards on one of his shoulders, and Lillith hopped up from behind the couch, doing the same with his other shoulder. Already Roman looked like he was about to fall, his legs shaking, and Virgil stood hesitantly. 

“Come on, Virgil!” Liam urged, and he paused. Where would he even go? But he stepped up and Kennedy and Lillith pulled him up, allowing him to sit on Roman’s head. It was strange, and he felt like he would fall at any second, but he’d seen many parents do so with their children so he just held his breath and trusted that he wouldn’t get hurt.

Roman wavered for a moment before his legs gave out, and he purposefully pitched forwards towards the couch. Adara was practically crushed underneath everyone, but she just laughed, and Virgil quickly rolled over, ending up sitting on the back of the couch. 

“Well, we got our answer!” Mara said through laughter as Roman pushed himself back onto his feet. He smiled sarcastically.

“Yeah, hardy har, I’m not strong enough.” He said, but there was no real malice behind his words. 

“Maybe if you try again you’ll be stronger.” Mara said, which earned a laugh from the kids. He rolled his eyes.

“Or I’ll drop you on the floor this time instead.” He said, and Virgil glanced between them.

He didn’t know why, he couldn’t really explain it, but somehow, some way, this inexplicably felt like  _ home. _


	40. Great Timing

Everyone ended up heading to bed way sooner than the night before, having decided that they’d wake up early tomorrow to talk about what was going on with Virgil, since they couldn’t really talk about it when he was awake due to his hearing, not explicitly anyways.

That left Virgil and Roman as the last two still in the living room, the only two awake just as the night before. Virgil looked around, anxiety building inside him, but he took a deep breath, steeling his courage. It was a simple request, that was all, it wasn’t the end of the world.

So why was it so hard to ask?

“Hey, Roman?” He asked quietly, not meeting his eyes. Roman’s mood instantly shifted, worry clouding his eyes as he tried to figure out what was wrong.

“Yeah?” Virgil bit his lip, fidgeting with his jacket zipper.

“Could you… if it’s not too weird… carry me again?” He glanced up, and upon seeing the surprised look on his face immediately backtracked. “Sorry, I know it’s-” Roman held up a hand, cutting him off.

“It’s okay, I’d be happy to.” He said, and Virgil smiled nervously. With a glance to make sure it was okay, Roman picked him up, carrying him bridal style. Virgil smiled up at him and Roman felt like his heart was about to burst. “Where to, fair maiden?” He asked dramatically, and Virgil giggled.

“Oh, my prince, you have saved me from my tower! Lead me across the world.” He feigned gratitude, leaning back dramatically. Roman smiled.

He carried Virgil around, Roman acting as a noble knight and Virgil as a rescued damsel, Virgil laughing the whole time. The night grew darker, and eventually Virgil grew tired, but he didn’t say anything, not wanting the fun to end. 

His eyes became harder and harder to keep open, and he could no longer keep his head up, instead leaning back and allowing Roman to hold him up entirely. Roman noticed, but didn’t think much of it, sitting in that position for so long couldn’t have been very comfortable, so it was understandable to lean back after a while.

He was starting to think he should tell Virgil to head to bed when it finally happened. His eyes fell closed, and for a moment Roman thought nothing of it, but then he fell completely limp in his arms. Roman froze, glancing down at Virgil, and sure enough his breathing evened out. It made him realize just how quiet Virgil’s breathing had been before.

He froze, unsure what to do. What was he  _ supposed  _ to do? His mind started racing, and he carefully made his way to the kitchen, where he found Patton and Logan, discussing something before they stopped when they saw Roman, a panicked look on his face. 

“Guys.” He said, and Logan raised an eyebrow.

“We still need to talk. We don’t know when he could change back, and there are so many things we still need to address.” He said, but Roman just pointedly looked down at his arms.

“He fell asleep in my arms.” He said, and Patton gave him a confused look. “Guys, this is  _ Virgil.  _ Virgil, the person who fought us for years. Who is probably the strongest person we know. Who doesn’t trust any of us yet. Who we’ve done horrible things to. And- and-” He was growing frantic. Patton held up a hand, trying to calm him down, but Roman would not.

“No-!” He quieted himself, not wanting to wake him. “He- do you know how much trust it takes to fall asleep in someone’s arms? To even be willing to be held like that? He- this- do you understand just how much he’s trusting me right now? How much I don’t deserve that?” He shook his head. “I’ve done more things to him, to his family, than I could count. He… he wouldn’t trust me this much if he knew that.” He trailed off, looking down at Virgil.

“Roman…” Patton said, reaching out. He shook his head. 

“I don’t deserve this trust. He doesn’t know. He  _ doesn’t know.  _ He doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve to be getting targeted. He’s already gone through so much, he doesn’t deserve this.” Tears welled up in his eyes. Patton felt like he’d been stabbed through the heart.

He could  _ feel  _ it. He could feel just what Roman was feeling, and it was overwhelming. He could barely breathe, could barely think, and he was feeling the  _ filtered  _ version, the one that had to go through several layers of deconcentration before it reached him. He could hardly imagine what Roman was  _ actually  _ feeling. 

Logan sighed. “Look, Roman, I  _ do  _ understand where you’re coming from. But what we need to focus on currently is how we’re going to deal with this situation. How are we going to cover this legally? He’s already gone missing once. And how will we explain another kid unaccounted for with no records of him anywhere? No one will have ever seen him? And his  _ name?  _ He still doesn’t know-” Logan began to rant, but he was cut off.

There was a  _ poof  _ of smoke, and the weight in Roman’s arms shifted. When the smoke cleared, instead of a small child resting peacefully in his arms, there laid Virgil, distinctively himself again, still in his Anxiety outfit, as he had been before. Roman stared.

Despite being fully himself again, he still held that peaceful look on his face, so relaxed that it made them realize they’d  _ never,  _ not  **_once_ ** seen him so free of worry, so completely peaceful and resting. It was in that moment that Roman realized he still truly meant what he’d said the day previous.

He would die for Virgil, no questions asked.

Logan blinked in surprise, before glaring, sighing to himself. Patton smiled gently, and Roman took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Breaking down wouldn’t help anyone. Surprisingly, he could carry Virgil somewhat easily, though there was definitely a difference from before and after he’d changed back. He carefully brought him back to his bedroom, his  _ own  _ bedroom, not the guest one he’d been staying in, gently laying him on the bed.

He went to walk away when he paused, looking back. He glanced around for a moment before sighing to himself, walking back over. He carefully pulled the covers up, smiling gently to himself before walking out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Logan just wanted to figure things out, but Virgil said No❤️

**Author's Note:**

> Quick disclaimer: I don't know everything. If I accidentally say anything offensive in any way, whether it be racially charged, insensitive to those with certain mental conditions, or anything that is offensive or harmful, /please/ let me know. I am not trying to be harmful and I apologize if I am uninformed


End file.
